Eureka Seven: The Sting of Silence
by Kaster-Revised
Summary: The ongoing war has lasted ten years. Through that time Eureka has tried to forget what's happen and put the past behind her, but the attempt is forlorn. Now a person arrives recalling her cherished memories, but with him are older nightmares realized.
1. Chapter 1: Before The Echoes Pass

**Eureka Seven: The Sting of Silence**

**WARNING:**

**If you have not read my previous fan-fic, Eureka Seven: Corrupted Hopes. Please, do not read this! Besides, it wouldn't make any sense…**

**This is the continuation, please enjoy for those that have read the previous.**

**Also, I do not own Eureka Seven.**

**Chapter One: Before The Echoes Pass**

"It's been about ten years now. Doesn't seem so long ago though... Then again, now that I think about it, it feels like a hundred years ago. So long ago." Irik paused in his writing. Nestled between his fingers was a small pencil, and under the tip remained a book lying half open. Its pages were blank, crisp and ready for the new touch of words.

The room he was in was fairly large. Wedged into a corner sat a fluffy bed that bragged comfort. Next to it settled another long table, similar to the desk that Irik was using now. Both were evenly curved and polished, shinning a dim reflection of the surroundings. Irik's desk only held his lamp and book, while the longer table was blanketed with papers and documents. A closed closet was placed next to the door of the room, and the walls were lined with shelves holding curious gadgets and objects. Old ideas and concepts he'd started but never got around to finishing.

"I'm sorry Kess, a lot of things happened ten years ago. You might be thinking of your birth, or your mother Klera's death. No, I'm talking about the death of another. His death was the turning point of everything, at least for Gekko-State. He was a man I knew very well, or at least, he would be man now. I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard of him. And then, I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of him either. His name is Renton Thurston. He was a good friend to your mother and father."

"Now before I wander to off topic, I need to let you know why I'm writing this. Your mother died wanting you to know what she was like, and what your father was like. With her last breath, she asked me to continue writing this journal. I hate to admit that I haven't done so until ten years later, on this very day. I'm sure there are a lot of things you will have forgotten once I give this to you. So I'm doing this for you, so you'll never forget the history you come from. But, I'm also doing it for Eureka, your mother."

"Your father, as I'm sure you know, was a KLF pilot for the P.O.F…." Irik stopped once more and took in a large breath. His mind was wobbly with the thoughts of what to write.

"What are the things I should let you know…" He whispered aloud while gently shaking his head back and forth. Out of everything in the room, he seemed to have changed the most. His height was longer, and his build more mature. Black as ever sprung his hair out of his head, a less formal cut to keep it from straggling around at the edges. The white P.O.F. uniform he once wore was gone. Now he wore a black jacket with a green "G-S" symbol on the side of his arm. He wore blue pants, with a matching shirt, both having two green stripes.

Dropping his pencil back down on the paper, he started to continue his writing.

"He wasn't a very treasured pilot among the KLFs. The taste of war didn't settle in his mouth all that well. What I mean by this is, is that he doesn't wish or like to kill people, even for the right cause or survival. I've witnessed a few of his break downs. Although you need to know everything about your parents, you already heard enough in the first half of this book. So I'll stop here and continue onto the previous subject. Being this is the same book your mother had written in. So you should already know about that…" He shifted his teeth back and forth for a moment, pursed his lips, and let out a sigh. His hand quickly flipped the pencil around and scrubbed the writings off the paper, leaving a smolder of black behind.

Hesitantly, he continued.

"Eureka, the person you have adopted as your mother. I know you've never seen her real smile, but I have. There was a time when she would open herself to anyone. That was while Renton was still alive. She loved him more than herself… or anything else. When he died, she blamed me for the whole incident. I didn't stop her. The blame was and is well deserved. It took a two full years before she finally forgave me, by some sheer miracle. Those were hard times… I wanted to help her, and I only ended up hurting her more. Kess, I have to confess to you, after she forgave me, she suddenly assumed that his death was her fault. She took the whole blame on herself, and wouldn't let any one else carry the burden. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop her."

"That was when it happened. Eureka had just forgiven me, and then Gekko-State disbanded. Holland was already setting up for a second child. He didn't want to raise his children in the acts of war. Taking Talho with him, they all went into hiding. The rest of Gekko-State went their separate ways. Eureka was utterly destroyed by this. Gekko-State was her family… and the thing she thought would never happen, happened. Problems were piling on her like heavy weights Kess, Renton's death, the loss of her family, and then Klera giving you to her. Eureka willingly accepted and decided to take care of you. At that time she had four children. Maurice, Maeter, Linck, and you."

"I know this is a lot to take in Kess. There is so much about this ship you don't know. Eureka was distraught at all she had to carry. Finally I took action, and Artisen came in with full support. We both helped lift Eureka up and took care of the kids. It's true that we left the P.O.F. and searched for some means of work. We bought a little shop and sold various gears and gadgets that would hopefully support us for a living."

"Three years after Renton's death she took on the idea of starting Gekko-State back up again. I wasn't sure at first, I mean, she had gotten over Renton's death, but she just wasn't the same. Her smiles became rare, even for the kids. Just a year before the idea of restarting Gekko-State, Maurice left for the U.F.. He was angered at his mother, Eureka, and we still blame ourselves for not realizing it sooner. Maurice was very supportive to Eureka. He became one of the clutches she needed to make it through all her trials. Unfortunately, Eureka gave no gratitude back or attention whatsoever. She was too lost in the thoughts of Renton. Maurice eventually lost it. He was jealous, angry, and hurt. He left us and joined the U.F.. Though thankfully, Linck and Maeter stayed and supported her."

"Still, that was just a year before Eureka came up with the idea to start Gekko-State back up again. It was incredibly difficult to get things moving. First of all, we needed a ship. Secondly, we needed a crew, and thirdly, we needed LFOs. Eureka went to Holland and asked permission to start Gekko-State back up. The two argued for a long time. Artisen and I were behind it the whole way, supporting the idea with everything we had. Eventually Holland agreed to it." He paused and rubbed his eyes tenderly, wondering how late it might be. His writing wasn't nearly up to par to what he was use to, but even now he had a hard time recalling the past in his fatigued state.

Nonetheless, "We quickly headed off to find some way to produce a force. There was the Xellien, and Matthieu gave us the 606. Still don't understand that one, to be honest. So far we had two LFOs. It was then that we found one of our greatest allies. A month later Tolly Marcius came into our acquaintance. He was only too happy with the idea of helping us in the fight against the U.F.. When Holland heard we actually found a supporter, he revealed to us the location of the Gekko-Go. It suffered too many battle for much use anymore. We brought it to Tolly Marcius to look it over."

"Tolly Marcius was a man who knew the fine line between right and wrong. He was also a very clever mechanic, and owned his own secret franchise. We only found him through Artisen, who had met him previously."

"Tolly took the Gekko-Go and transformed it completely, with my help of course… It wasn't even the Gekko-Go anymore. Mostly the metal was used, and few components such as the engines, cannons, computers, and many other things. But the whole frame and model of the ship was torn apart and rebuilt. He gave his own special design and touch. It became the pure black ship it is today. That is where the Night Iris comes from, the ship you are on now. This ship wasn't for the P.O.F., but it did serve as a great ally."

"This detail may not seem important Kess, but I think you should know as much as you can about your adopted mother, Eureka. The more you know about her, the more you'll understand why she hardly smiles anymore. I've tried all I can. I hope you can do better. The detail I want to tell you about is the inside of the Xellien. It received a lot of updates, but the biggest one was that of the cockpit. It used to fit two people, but she specifically desired for it to become one. Tolly wasn't sure why, no one really understood, except for me and Artisen. We both assumed that the empty spot next to her was becoming too much to bear. We thought it was obvious, but apparently everyone else only found it an unneeded hassle."

"All of what I have written so far happened over a course of three years. Eureka broke down, and we helped her back up, along with the help of her kids. Maurice had also left at that time. We then all came together to once again form the Gekko-State. Tolly provided us a remodel of our ship, changing the Gekko-Go to the Night Iris. He also remodeled the 606 into its own new model, as you have seen before. The Xellien on the other hand never received a change, except for the inside. With all of that being seven years ago, Gekko-State reached to where it is today. One of the powerful strengths the P.O.F. has. Since the war has still been going between the P.O.F. and U.F. for the past ten years."

"There are a lot of things that happened over the course of those seven years. Eureka served as a great leader for Gekko-State. Even as Gekko-State received many of its new members it has now. With all that in though, there i-" Irik's hand jerked as a loud fist thwacked his door. Irritated, he twisted in his chair and rushed to open it.

"What?" His voice almost burst into an aggravated yell, but he held it back. Artisen stood there itching the side of his nose.

"Just following routine procedures. You're supposed to be up by this time." Artisen yawned and folded his arms. Thinking about the past so much, he noticed that after all these years, Artisan hasn't changed much at all. He even still wore that old P.O.F. jacket occasional assigned to specific Operation Forces.

"Well, Artisen, it's a good thing you caught me while I was awake… Because I'm always awake, usually before everyone else." Irik gave him a hard stare, but Artisan gave little reaction. Sighing, he shook his head, "Is Eureka up?" He asked, changing subjects suddenly. Artisen rolled his eyes and looked down the hall.

"No, she probably won't be out of her room for the next three hours… like always. I suggest you take your shower soon. She'll take all the hot water again. Which reminds me. We really need to fix that water heater. Then we might not have that problem, hm?" Artisen finished and turned his back to Irik.

"I'll take a look at it later. I'm sure it's only a small little problem." He responded and started to close the door, "Get me when Eureka is on the bridge." Artisen sarcastically saluted before the door completely shut.

---

"It's cold." Eureka whispered inside of her room. Out of all the rooms in the ship, hers exceeded all others in size. The walls were a creamy white metal, looking soft to the touch, despite its cold hard surface. White covered everything else in the room as well, except for a tan colored floor. The size of the room left it with too much empty space. All of the occupants consisted of a tall drawer, a closet, two doors, and table with a mirror placed on its empty surface. There was the bed also where she lay, rapped in her thick blankets in defense against the morning chill. She wondered if ships should have morning chills. Or if it was just her.

"I think it's almost time." She half whispered and slowly made it out of her crumpled bed. When the covers soft protection left her skin, she shivered as cold air rushed over her body, "Another thing to do… turn up the heater." Speaking no more, she walked over next to the door. Behind the door was a fine bathroom, pure with white glassy colors. Stepping inside she closed the door behind her.

An hour or so passed until she stepped back out again. Her hair shined with perfect reflection. Its aquatic teal color perfectly curved with her head. From ten years ago, she hadn't changed so much. For one, she was most certainly taller. Her hair was scarcely longer, but not noticeable enough. She still wore the same type of clothing, but now it was white and a dark shade of blue. A collar extended lightly around her neck, and two red lines traced her left sleeve.

On the table with the mirror remained a single lonely object. A mirror, covered in a golden frame, now holding Eureka's reflection. The golden hair pin sat there, never having been touched. There she left it and looked into the mirror. Her hair was short like it had always been; and every time she looked into the mirror she could imagine herself wearing it.

"ten years…" She whispered and gently rubbed the golden hairpin. It wasn't the same one as before, but the design was close enough for her. Distant memories softly seeped into her mind, the memories of the hairpin and the last person who had given it to her. She wondered how he knew.

Thoughts pulling her deeper away from reality left her surprised at a sudden knock at the door. She didn't jump or flinch, but only turned her eyes solemnly. One last time she looked at the mirror before opening the door.

"Yes?" She asked and glanced around. To her confusion, there was no one there, until she turned her head down.

Standing at about half her height was Kess. The girl had adopted little of her parents looks, though her cherry blond and fluffy hair reminded Eureka specifically of Klera.

"What it is?" Eureka asked and knelt down to Kess' height. A smile pressed against Eureka's face, but oddly, it felt hollow even to her. Kess twisted her heal against the floor and looked around uncomfortably.

"I was just wondering if you were ok mom." Kess struggled as she spoke. Eureka slipped her arms around her and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Kess. I just got a slow start this morning." She responded with calm soothing words, ones that could make anyone believe what was being said. With a newborn smile Kess held her mother back just as tightly.

"Thank you." Kess sighed peacefully as she rested her head on Eureka's shoulder. Gently Eureka pulled away and brushed Kess's hair with her hand.

"Do you want me to make breakfast?" Kess eyes lit up at Eureka's idea. She nodded in excitement, "Alright, let's go." Eureka took Kess' hand and they walked out into and down the halls.

The halls had a firm grey color. Large metal plates fitted the walls tightly, only sticking out slightly where a dim glow shined through. The ceiling corners bulged with bright white lights that traced down the hall and back. Grey and white left a military feel about the place, but that wasn't odd, for that's what the place was. War was bound to this vessel. It was a decision Eureka had decided a long time ago. Although she never intended to join the P.O.F., she would always attend to their needed aid. She didn't fully understand why the need was so great, why she felt that need, but either way it burned within her.

The steaming sound of sizzling grease crisply fumed the air with sweet sensations. Eureka carefully watched over her pan. It was strange to just watch it steam before her eyes. She knew what it was, and she had it before.

"Pancakes?" Kess called up to the female cook. Eureka glanced back and nodded.

"Yes… I've had these before. I wonder why I can't remember from where?" Her eyes gazed down into the sizzling pan, as if some window into another place, another world. Kess frowned and itched the side of her leg.

"Mom?" Kess nudged the side of her knee unsurely. Eureka blinked a few times before staring back down.

"Sorry… Today has been… a strange day." She forced another smile and continued preparing the pancakes. As she did so, a sharp pain was building in the side of her head. It was familiar, but foreign at the same time. Shortly a memory fell back into her thoughts, "Renton." She whispered to herself. That was why the pancakes were more than just a breakfast. Back a long time ago, she remembered Renton tried to surprise her and comfort her. It was that same day that she had had the nightmare of him disappearing… and the kids… she was alone, all alone.

She slipped the baked pancake onto a plate and handed it to an excited Kess.

"It smells very sweet!" Kess called as she cut off a piece.

"Wait, you need this first." Eureka slapped on a block of butter, and poured a layer of syrup over it, "There." She smiled and sat down next to Kess. They both sat at a circular table. Kess took a bite and held her cheek as the sweet taste stung her within. Eureka reached up and brushed her hair back once again. Kess for the past ten years had been a comfort to her. All the pain in the past just swept away by watching her sweet smile. Sometimes she wondered how she would be with out Kess, but that was a scary thought. Kess had now become her daughter, and she had become Kess' mother.

"I'll clean up, you keep eating." Eureka said and stood up. For a moment she glanced around the room. It was similar to the Gekko-Go's, but the ceiling was black, and two round tables sat in the middle. Everything else was too much the same, with the couches lining the wall, and the cooking room being just to the left of the door. All of it was familiar. Memories were finding their way back into her thoughts. Seeing old pictures again left a sharp pain at the side of her head. Why did she have these feelings now?

"What's wrong with me?" Her eyes started to close. The room shook and bent into itself, reverberating with powerful energy. She gripped her head tightly.

"Mom?" The word echoed through her mind, but it was muted by the ringing sound filling her ears. It was the sound of no sound. When there is absolute silence, a ringing somehow finds a way into the ears. Eureka knew this feeling like she knew herself, for it was the feeling that defined her life over the past ten years. It was the silence reminding everyone that it was there. She knew the sound of silence, and it shot through her hears like a knife. Falling to her knees, she fell to the side. Somehow the light in the room had gotten dimmer; a dark shadow covered her eyes. The pain grew sharper on the side of her head. Whatever it was, she had once known it before. Something was coming towards them, and it was coming fast. The ringing continued and darkness took her eyes.

One beep, two beeps, three beeps.

Eureka opened her eyes and blinked away an itch. She glanced around the room to quickly realize that she was in an infirmary. Computers leaned against one wall, while medical beds lined the other.

"Awake, Eureka?" A cheery voice called from beside her. Eureka twisted her head to see an older man looking back down at her. There was a tight smile on his face, one she had come to know of him so well ever sense he joined. His smile reminded her of Mischa, and dimly wondered if perhaps it was just a doctor thing.

The man looked to be in his later forties, with grey specs starting to breach the ends of his hair.

"What happened?" Eureka felt her head. The stinging was gone, for now.

"That's what I'm trying to find out." He heaved through a heavy sigh, "All the data is coming up with two things. Nothing happened, and nothing's wrong. I was hoping you could tell me a little more than what this did." He waved the note board while raising both brows quizzically.

"I'm not sure why it happened. Maybe it was because starting this day, Renton has been dead for ten years. While I've been going through out the ship, I constantly see things that remind me of the past. I'm not sure what to think. It wasn't long after my head started to hurt." She said with tiredness leaking through her voice.

"Alright, I'd like you to stay here for awhile." He stood up and started for one of the computers.

"No, I'm needed at the bridge. I'm sorry Dr. Ostler, but I need to be there for the crew." Eureka said, tossing aside his request. She jumped out of the bed and started for the door. Ostler turned around with an amused look on his face.

"You're always so healthy, and when you get sick once, you don't want to find out what it is?" Ostler questioningly pointed a pencil in her direction. She looked between the door and him, debating the decision herself.

"I'll co-" The room suddenly turned from a solid color, to a dark flashing red.

"Attention all crewmembers, There is a incoming force of over twenty five S.U.s.. Everyone is immediately needed at their stations." Artisen's voice calmly yelled through the speakers. Eureka didn't even think before running out the door and towards the command room. Ostler was left rolling his eyes.

"twenty five, eh?" He muttered while typing in a few commands.

Eureka charged down the halls until she finally reached a door that led directly into the command room of the ship. The room was circular, with computer consoles along its curved walls. Six large seats were placed in the middle, exactly the same as Gekko-Go's. A small balcony stood above the room, two sets of stairs leading down either side. The color scheme matched the rest of the ship, and a black screen lined the walls, displaying the current status of the ship.

At two of the large seat consoles, just in front of the command chair, sat two men. One was Artisen. The other man had fine blond hair, and blue tinted eyes. His eyes nervously bounced around the computer panel.

"How is our flow of trapar, Svent?" Eureka asked as she slipped into the largest chair, the command chair. The blond man weakly waved his hand, motioning to give him a second.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. I mean, they're only sending in about twenty five, right? That's odd, that's less than before. It doesn't seem likely that they would send such a small force when we've dealt with larger. How cou-" He stuttered over his speech as he spoke.

"Svent…" Eureka interrupted his continuous babble. Svent quickly shook his head to gather his thoughts. After a moment, his face relaxed and opened again, fierce.

"Sorry, it looks like we have a couple of large waves from the east. They're coming in fast, so we might want to take to a higher level." Svent finished with a professional tone. Eureka paused for a second to consider what to do. At one time she had also been the scanner for trapar movements, as well as the leader of the ship, but she couldn't do both. Eventually they found Svent. A man, when pressured, would act immediately when ordered, and organize any information given him instantly.

Eureka's thought turned back to the twenty five S.U.s. It was odd that they were sending only twenty five. Ten years before, that would have been a force to start an apocalypse. True at the time until the P.O.F. had developed technology to counter act the machines. Even so, Eureka knew that twenty five would be a threat to a P.O.F. ship, but they weren't the POF. They were Gekko-State, and Gekko-State had the Night Iris, which had her and the Xellien.

"When the Pilot gets here, tell her to direct the ship to move above the waves at the last second. We can hope that the S.U.s will be taken by the wave. If they are-" Eureka turned her head to face Artisen. She spoke with a complexion that leaked no emotion. Her eyes were slightly closed, not from fatigue, but the mode she shifted into when readying for battle, "I want you Artisen to lay a spray of fire on them. The confusion should add to your hits." Standing up she started up the steps, "I'll prep the Xellien for launch."

"Wait, Eureka, I want you to look at this." Svent flailed his arms at her. Eureka turned around and headed down to his console station.

"What is it?" She asked shortly.

"It's this here." He pointed at a few points that were spiking on the grid line, "Those are signs of trapar exhaust, or I mean, trapar being spent from a board. I've checked the map several times… apparently the computer says there're isn't any units there." He paused and waited for Eureka response. She didn't look surprised or sure.

"That is strange… It's leading at the front of that force." She stood up and started back up out of the room, "We'll figure it out." She added before passing through the door. Svent sighed and turned back to his console.

"It's like she has different forms. One for leading and one for being her normal quiet self." Svent said aloud in the mostly empty command room. Artisen nodded his head and raised his brows.

"I've known Eureka for a long time. There use to be a single her, odd as it sound no matter how you look at it." He smiled. "I didn't know what she was like when she knew Renton, but I know she wasn't like this. Irik told me that she was happy, and she expressed the feeling with all genuineness." He keyed in a few more controls. Then he leaned back in his chair to gaze out the curved view port, "She was a lot worse after his death." His brows tightened into a methodical frown, "She's a lot better than what she was ten years ago… well… ten years back… she might as well have been dead."

---

"Maurice?" A female voice came through the camped cockpit. Maurice sat in the heavily equipped chair. His cockpit held an ominous blue shade. The inside was black, and the walls were littered with screens of a blue glow. His hands tightly gripped two control sticks. Snuggly wrapped around his body was a black suit labeled with the U.F. symbol.

The voice caused him to raise his head, which was covered by a smooth black helmet. A metal necklace hung around his neck with a flat metal circle inscribed with the letter R.

"Sorry, it has been a while since I've seen the Night Iris." He half mumbled back to Daia, one of the former Ageha Squad members. She was dominant of the lot, and it clearly showed.

"Are you sure, you seem a little…" She cut off weakly. Maurice smirked and pressed two knobs forward.

"Daia, it has been eight or so years of hate… No, for me, it's never going to be alright." He snapped. He immediately regretted reacting so rudely to her. Some time back, she was the one that had helped him get to where he was now. He could still remember the day he served under Daia's careful hand, when he was fifteen. She gave him the commands, and he followed them in turn. Time between them eventually allowed a friendship to form. That friendship eventually grew into one of the few treasures in his life.

"I'm sorry Daia. I guess I'm just a little anxious." He admittedly apologized.

"It's alright Maurice, I understand." She replied simply, but he knew it was meant.

"Still, who is this guy leading the force?" Maurice reached over and clicked a few buttons. After he did so, two blue screens faded into a picture. Each one revealed a speeding LFO dressed in colors of black and red, a wild spew of green flew from the back of its board like fire.

"I'm not sure. Not even the higher ups would tell me." Maurice found that very odd. Daia had earned a lot of respect through the U.F.. What others didn't know, she usually did. It was because of that power she was able to push Maurice through the ranks and cause other to realize his skills. Maurice had become an excellent KLF pilot among the UF, even to the point where they didn't require him to use the inverse drive. All of it was thanks to Daia. She convinced those who lacked faith that he had something more.

"That bothers me greatly Daia." Maurice quickly shoved through the comm. before shutting it off.

The twenty five S.U.s flew forward, three LFOs at their lead. One of the LFOs was a pure black, with two red stripes across its chest, feet, and shoulders. On the left side of LFO was a dark blue LFO. It had gray shoulder pads and a thick R marked on its head. To the right side was one last LFO, with a matching design, but the paint was red instead of blue and held no symbol.

Ahead of them, far in the distance, was flying a large black ship. Its wings curved together in a large form, appearing as a crescent black moon. In between the wings pointed out the command room, shaped like a perfectly connected triangle. The ship was once known as the Gekko-Go, but now it was Night Iris.

Out the back shot three LFOs. One of the three was the Xellien. It quickly twisted in the air and activated streaming jets of thick hot fire. It shot forward like an extension of the trapar itself; flawlessy. The other two tried to follow the magnificent move, but they fell short and continued casually.

"Mom, how do you manage those moves?" The orange one whined through the comm. system. Inside of it sat the much older version of Maeter. Her LFO was that of the 606, but now it packed two large cannons on either shoulder, clearly built for a powerful punch.

"You're telling me. I've been practicing this thing for the past four months… I still can't pull off that weird twist." A deep voice replied back, this time from the green LFO. Inside sat Linck. His hair was a fuzzy as ever, but his face had matured greatly. His LFO was also designed like the 606, but the back held six wings that looked capable of piercing the hardest of metals.

"You two will be able to surpass me one day." Eureka replied back through her radio. Her cockpit was completely different then what it had once been. Several foot pads extended from the floor, each one acted as a control for a specific system. The console curved around her, uniformly lined with buttons, screens, and knobs. But the most important was her control wheel. She gripped the wheel like the Xellien had become connect to her body and very spirit. What Xellien felt, she felt. What she did, Xellien did, becoming one unit of mind and action. Xellien was alive much like the Nirvash and could hear the voice of her long time friend.

The three LFOs charged forward, all being of their unique design.

"This could cause a problem." Linck said through the comm..

"What is it?" Maeter asked back.

"I'm picking up three LFOs… They seem to be leading the force of twenty five S.U.s."

"Leading?" Maeter remarked in a sarcastic tone, "The only thing leading S.U.s nowadays is computers and a few scientists with those weird haircuts."

"True, but that's not the point. It just so happens that there is three of us." Linck chuckled nervously as they neared closer to the oncoming force.

"Don't worry, I have faith in you two. Lift up now…" Eureka commanded through her soothing voice. Both the green and orange LFOs lifted into the air. Just from the right of them poured in a large wave of green sparkling light. The wave fell on top of the S.U.s, sending them all into a spiraling confusion. From behind Eureka shot several blue beams from the Night Iris. Chaotically the beams ripped through the disturbed force, hitting a few and morphing them into nothing but liquid metal.

"That took down… five?" Maeter growled from the other side of the comm..

"There're increasing the activity of the signals guys. You'll have to be more careful when they reform." Irik's voice sounded over all their radios. The Xellien reacted by instantly turning down into the reforming units.

"What do you mean?" Linck asked as they charged in as well. The horizontal set of wings on his back extended, and the edges became thick red with heat. His LFO shot through the flying S.U.s, catching two and leaving them in a similar amount of pieces. Linck smirked to himself and yowled into the radio excitedly.

"I mean that they're computers will be sending them more complicated commands. If they are knocked off course again, they'll be able to calculate realignment within a matter of seconds. To put it simply, another wave wouldn't knock them off for more than two seconds. These guys are being pushed past their limits." Irik's urgent tone was building as he spoke. It didn't add well to the anxiousness in either Maeter or Linck, but Eureka seemed to be flying with no problem at all.

Maeter took her LFO and flew far away from her battle. Her skills lied in long distance combat. The two cannons on her shoulders could nail a fly two miles away.

"I'm setting up position. Ok, now Ieeehhhaaaa!" Maeter screamed, sending the communication system into a warble of crackles.

"What is it Maeter?" Linck yelled and struggled to find her on the radar.

"This dang LFO won't let go of me!" She screamed with such intensity that Linck had to cover his ears. Out the view port he spotted an orange LFO fighting another dark red LFO, except this one was designed like the S.U.'s thin design. It was continuously slamming its arms against Maeter's thick armor.

"Hold on Maeter, let's do the shove cut thrust!" He said with a turn of excitement.

"Good idea, this idiot won't see what's coming." Maeter replied smartly. Linck charged forward, out of the moving S.U.s. Oddly none followed, but continued on towards the Night Iris. To that moment Linck didn't care, he just wanted to make sure his sister would be safe.

"Ready?" He asked and clenched his teeth as their greatest move was about to take place.

"More than-. Look out Linck!" Linck twisted his head just in time to see the other LFO slam into him. The incredible amount of speed didn't even send the two into a tumble, but send the wind into a series of convulsions around them.

"Who are these guys?" Linck asked as his annoyance grew stronger. The dark blue LFO continued to push him, until it abruptly let go and sent him spiraling backwards. Linck gripped the controls. His hands moved fast, but his mind moved faster, as he recalculated his projector and steadied the LFO.

"Well Linck, that is interesting." Maurice's mature voice came through. Linck's face crunched together in a tight scowl.

"Shut up Maurice, you traitor!" He actually screamed back while slamming both fists on the controls.

"Me the traitor? You pathetic waste of human flesh… This world doesn't need more worthless beings like you. I'm still trying to figure out how you're still alive." Maurice answered in his own clever voice. The sound purged tears of hate through Linck's eyes.

"Hate me like you hate the evil of the world Linck, but I am not sitting on the darker side of this battle. You continue to live in some fantasy where the P.O.F. is the good guys, and the U.F. is the bad guys. All we want is to end this war, yet you continue to fight us." Maurice's LFO alarmingly charged forward. Linck smirked and charged his LFO forward as well.

"That's when I realize that I'm right about it all Maurice… when I hear your excuse of life." Linck shifted from angered to calm. Bare silence filled his cockpit before the two collided.

Eureka gripped the controls tighter and tighter with every word that was being spoken.

"It's my fault Renton… that our children are fighting." Tears were building within her eyes. With all the emotions getting stronger inside her, she knew she would lose it, but she had to stay strong.

The Inverse Drive, although broken, could have powerful effects on her unlike anyone had predicted. It was not longer like the one designed previously, but somehow had become a machine of its own, powerful and independent of all outside forces. When she lost control, the inverse drive would come alive and empower both her and the Xellien. Often times she wonder how the reaction happened, but Irik confirmed that the drive could no longer receive communication. It was a true mystery.

But even so, the thoughts of her children fighting eachother with the approaching results of death ripped at her heart. She just wanted to let it all go.

"Hope… Corrupted until I couldn't use it anymore." She whispered in a silence. Closing her eyes she concentrated on her mind. All thoughts of Renton disappeared, what was important now was the safety of Night Iris.

"Why does my head sting Xellien?" She asked her strongest companion. The answer pulled all of her thoughts back into one. Her eyes shot up and she slammed the controls to their max.

"Your right… now isn't about me." Her eyes tightly curved into a glare, "I'll protect them now."

The Xellien twisted about in the air and thrust its arm forward. A sharp harpoon shot through its tip and stabbed an SU. She pulled on the SU. Quickly taking advantage of the motion, she twisted around and kicked another SU with crushing force.

While the second SU fell lifelessly, another two came in for the attack. Timing was against them. Eureka reached under and flew the mecha like a boulder at the incoming attackers. The SU easily dodged out of the way, but was all in the plan. She charged forward and pierced the unit with a blade sharp with the taste of vengeance.

Death of allies didn't stop these suicidal machines. Swiftly the second SU charged in after her. Xellien twisted about and dislodged the harpoon from its victim, twisted around, and swung the weapon at the enemy. The SU charged in at her attack too fast and was caught in the swipe before it could dodged, leaving the massive vehicle in to pieces, and then exploding into a cloud of smoke.

"I'm sorry." Eureka muttered and she gripped the blade, "They need my help." Her voice called out of her thoughts control. "I'm coming." She pushed the control wheal forward, but suddenly a large force bumped her. It was like someone had thrown a building at her. The entire cockpit was flashing wildly and screens were going blank of processing errors.

A pain spiked at the side of her head.

"What's going on… why does my head hurt?" Eureka danced her fingers across the controls despite the violent shaking. The Xellien shoved back and spread its arms. Breaking free from the force, Xellien turned around to see its enemy. It was the black and red LFO from before. Although the LFO had a small frame, its armor was curved to perfection. Eureka could only compare it to a set of black rocks which have sat beneath a waterfall for a thousand years, looking smooth and elegant, but filled with ghostly malice

"Who is that?... and what is that model?" The odd LFO turned in the air and fell down. Eureka didn't hesitate to follow. Everything around them was near the coast. Off to side the ocean sparkled with the gathering of a billion blue jewels. Alongside the beach grew a thriving forest of green, like someone had poured pure silk over the landscape.

Eureka flinched.

The black LFO was about to crash right into the beach, but it swiftly tilted its board and surfed forward. Eureka quickly had the Xellien follow the same pursuit, having no problem in doing so. Suddenly the demon LFO turned around and shot at her. She quickly dodged out of the way and shot the harpoon extension at its back. A wave of surprise washed over her as the LFO flipped backwards and latched onto the harpoon.

"It-," was the only word she was able to get out before the LFO whipped her up and over. The pressure crushed her body against the seat. Without warning the ground crashed against her, creating a thick upheaval of sand to rise from the beach. Heavy, the sand fell back down, filling the area with a cloud of dirt.

"You're too dangerous… I know your mission isn't to kill just me." Eureka smoothly exhaled from her lungs. The LFO turned about and shot down at her, "I can't let you exist as a threat against the Gekko-State, I'm sorry." Everything in her actions suddenly changed. She cusped her hands around the control wheel. Xellien launched into the air with one simple jump. Twirling, it grabbed onto the bumpy green waves. Air split as the black LFO attempted to grab Xellien, but this time Eureka was thinking faster. She dropped and back flipped. Her board flipped in a hinged motion, smacking the tip of her board into the back of the black LFO. The action caught the enemy off sync. Unable to regain balance, the opponent fell and crashed into the ground.

"Again… I'm sorry." Eureka pulled out both blades from its shoulders and connected them together in a sword. Raising it into the air, she charged down to finish the battle. Her blade was aimed, and victory seemed secure. Just as her blade was about to meet collision, the black LFO twisted and dodged.

Dirt exploded as her sword slammed into the beach. Eureka gritted her teeth. The black LFO lifted its leg and shoved her back onto the ground. Both were now on their backs, momentarily dazed from the recent events.

"This would be a good time." Eureka muttered and hit a button just above her. The door slid open and she stood up. At her side she pulled pistol. Why she knew it would happen, she didn't know, but the demon LFO opened as well. A person stood up from the cockpit, holding a pistol like her. A helmet was tightly secured on his head, and the rest of his body was covered in a black pilot suit uniform. Both aimed the pistols at each other, neither pulling the trigger.

---

"Who the heck are you? Get the flip off of me!" Maeter screamed over and over. Finally she managed to aim her large cannons down at the red LFO slamming her. Before Maeter had a chance to fire, the red LFO flipped backwards, "At last, sweet freedom." She breathed a breath of clear blue skies.

"Lucky for you, I can't get Maurice off of me." Linck yelled back through the comm..

"Hold on little bro. Let me show you what a single click will do to stubborn old brothers." Maeter didn't even hold back her playful smile. Three screens flashed to life. The one in the middle showed a small targeting system aimed at them both.

"Hey hey! Don't aim at me!" Linck yelled in a sudden burst of worry. Maeter laughed as she pulled the trigger. For any other, they both would have been gone, but Maeter was excellent at her trade. The blast seared the air right at Maurice. Right when the beam was about to hit, the blue LFO broke off and formed back with its red ally.

"Those two were raised to be chaotic, ay?" Linck sarcastically whimpered.

"Night Iris, how's your status?" Maeter asked.

"We're ok, thanks to our excellent pilot and weapons specialist." Irik's tone went up and down like he just barely dodged a bullet. Maeter twisted her head to see the Night Iris pass over them. Wind was blaring behind it, along with about nine S.U.s.

"This battle is insane!" Linck laughed from his end. Maeter rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"fifteen, sixteen… and seventeen, right Maurice?" She asked to the empty comm..

"Let's finish this." A female voice cracked through. This one neither Maeter nor Linck recognized.

"Who was that?" Linck couldn't help but question.

"How would I know?" Maeter replied, relishing in a tone of annoyance, "Go, here they come!"

Red and Blue shot their LFOs forward. Like one, they both split to opposite sides.

"They're trying to confuse us, stay together." Maeter quickly said as the enemy circled around them.

"I got Maurice, you keep track on… the other one." Linck suggested.

The LFOs stopped when both were on opposite sides of each other. They dipped down and back up, their targets being Linck and Maeter.

"Twist and slam?" Linck questioned and smiled like he already knew the answer.

"Agreed." Maeter smirked as well.

"GS and OT, or also known as Green Storm and Orange Thunder." Maurice commented through the radio, sounding as if he were about to break out into a laugh.

"Shut up." Maeter dully replied. The two LFOs ran into the OT and GS, but this time they were beaten. OT turned about her LFO, as did GS. They seized advantage of the momentum that was aimed at them. When they gripped and twisted around, the Red and Blue slammed into each other, rather than the OT or GS. A loud bang rumbled the air.

"Heheheh, served on a golden plate." Linck proudly announced into his microphone.

"It's a one sided window Linck." Maurice replied with a knowing tone. The blue and red LFOs pushed off each other, twisted around and kicked the OT and GS. Maeter and Maurice fell back through the air.

"This battle is so even…" Maeter gripped her controls tighter, "It ticks me off!"

---

"Artisen, two on left, 203 degrees!" Svent shouted as his eyes quickly scanned over the data.

"I got it, just nine left right?" Artisen asked and wiped the sweat off his glistening forehead.

"Should be… please." Svent replied with a few anxious laughs. Outside the Night Iris soared the remaining SU's, all desperately trying to dismantle their prized ship and home.

"I got an idea." Irik announced, "Terina, I want you to turn the ship on its axis. With all the S.U.s swarming us, we should at least knock out four." A girl in the front console nodded, her long brown flowed back and forth at the motion.

The Night Iris spiraled towards the around. All of the SU's spread out, but a few weren't so lucky. A couple of the units were hit and crushed into thin paper.

"Three, that leaves six!" Svent called out in his excitement.

"Five actually, got one in the peek of the moment." Cockily Artisen added. The Night Iris continued to fly forward.

"Wait a second." Svent said and frowned down at his controls, "They're breaking off?"

"Hmmm… Pity." Artisen grumbled, letting out a sigh at the same time.

"Calling them off? Twenty five… this was all a DISTRACTION!" Irik slammed his fist on the console, "Quickly Svent, where is the Xellien?"

---

"Who are you?" Eureka asked as she held the heavy pistol in her hand. The man didn't even make a movement to shoot her, but just continually held his gun. Her breath came thick. Something in her head was pressing the sharp pain. The man lifted his hand and started to click a few buttons on the side. When he finished, he lifted towards the front and pulled back the helmet.

"I don't know why I have to kill you… but what has to be done will be done, for the sake of peace on this broken world." The man answered in tired annoyance. Eureka eyes became wider with a power of shock. Ten years of silence, and it felt like someone had just shot a gun next to her ears.

"Your face?... Your voice?" She stuttered with her quivering voice. The man frowned and gave her a strange look. "Ten years… I'm seeing things. I've seen many before who fooled me. I was just a thing to be tossed around." Eureka studied the ground as if it meant something, "I can still see him, like he had never left." Eureka lifted her head at the man. Her eyes bore into his, taking in every ounce of emotion she could pull from their reflective film.

"Who is this woman, why can't I pull this trigger?" The man asked himself as he stared down at the gun. It looked like him, sounded like him. He had grown taller, older, but Eureka couldn't believe it was him. Years of wishful thinking had detoured her judgment. Eight years ago she had given up for the last time. He was gone, and she had to let it go.

"So this is how far the U.F. is going to go this time? The Inverse Drive didn't suffice their greedy needs?" Eureka asked the man. He lifted his head and frowned in confusion.

"You're not Renton… but if that's true… Why can't I pull this trigger?" She asked the silence that had finally left her.

-------------------------------------

Read and review people, that's all I ask!


	2. Chapter 2: First Step

**Chapter 2: First Step**

"Who are you?" Eureka repeated the question again. The man glanced around before looking back up at her.

"I can't reveal that to you." The man answered.

"Are you some sort of look alike that the U.F. sent?" She gripped her gun tighter at the cruel idea. The man laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't even know who you are or your name, but the U.F. did send me to kill you." The man was obviously angry as he spoke, but Eureka couldn't tell why.

"You don't know my name?" She echoed his words within a whisper. There were a lot of things she learned from over the years, one of the biggest being love. Another was something she didn't learn, or fully understand, until after Renton's death, and that was the purpose of popularity. Back in the past she didn't understand that she was known by everyone, along with Renton. The same reason she couldn't understand why it was so amazing that she and Renton had returned; but that was still in the past. Now she understood what it meant to be popular. If it were true that she was being assassinated, then they should have at least told the man her name.

"No, I really don't." He motioned with his head as he spoke, "I'm only supposed to kill you, not get to know you."

"So you've come to remove the Xellien?"

"Remove the Xellien?" He didn't fully comprehend what she meant, "You mean destroy it? Yes, that's true." A glare that pierced Eureka's eyes was still burrowed into his face.

They both stood, just pointing their pistols at each other. An aching feeling was slowly crawling up Eureka's legs.

"Why haven't you shot me?" He asked yet another question in solid tone. Eureka felt her breath quickening. Inside her chest she could feel her heart thumping wildly.

"Xellien… this feeling? I can't remember what it is." She gasped through her frantic breaths. The oddness didn't escape the man's notice. Suddenly the ground shook beneath them, or rather their LFOs did. The jarring force knocked Eureka back into her cockpit. Before the hatch sealed, she saw that the same thing was happening to the man.

Both LFOs stood up and leaped into the air. In unison they transformed into a plane type shape, shooting into the distance at deathly speeds.

"Xellien, what's wrong?" Eureka couldn't stop from coughing as the force shook her lungs inside her. She felt her whole body being crushed against the seat, "I… I can't breath." Her breath cracked through her flaky throat. Difficultly, she managed to take a glimpse at one of the screens. Outside she could see clouds flying by like a speeding river.

"How fast…. Are we moving?" She coughed again and again, until suddenly her lungs would open no more. Slowly her mind was loosing strength, and she felt the rest of the world around her fading. It was as if darkness would seize her in a never waking sleep, until suddenly the Xellien slowed down. The stop was prolonged, as in to not launch her out of the seat. Only a few seconds more passed until her lungs broke open into a grateful breath of air.

"Xellien?" Her whole body was now heavy with fatigue. There was one last shake before the cockpit door opened. Orange skies filled the sites of her vision. Weakly she stood up out of the cockpit and almost fell out.

"What happened, what did you do?" A man's voice attempted to yell, but it was suppressed by hard coughs. Eureka turned to see it was Renton, or the man that looked to be him.

"I didn't do anything." She replied and knelt down in the Xellien. The consoles were with out light or power. Reaching over she flipped a small switch, but nothing happened.

"What in the world? My LFO won't reactivate?" The man stressed and anxiously searched for a solution. Eureka stood up and turned to look over at the scrambling man.

"Neither will mine." She said too quietly for him to hear. An energetic feeling was building inside her chest. It was becoming too powerful her to stop the next thing that came out of her mouth, "What is your name?" For a brief moment the man surprisingly stopped. Frowning he stood up and faced her.

"My name… Eoin." He said just before returning back to his futile search. Strangely, he stopped again and looked over at Eureka, "Yours?" His speech was hesitant.

"Eureka." Interest was seizing her away from the current predicament, "I don't think that will work. Xellien is no longer speaking. I'm not sure why, but this happened before." She was speaking, but the other didn't seem to be listening.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eoin roughly jarred and hopped down from his LFO.

"Xellien isn't speaking." Her simple answer came again.

"Oh… you can hear your LFO?" Amusement didn't cover his face. Rather he looked between her and the Xellien, "So I'm not the only insane one." For once he spoke in a normal voice. Turning around, he faced his LFO, "Mine isn't speaking either." Eureka felt excitement spark inside her. A feeling she hadn't felt for a long time.

"So you can hear yours as well?" She asked while stepping next to him. Eoin turned to answer, but a glare instantly took his face and he back away.

"What are you doing?" Eureka studied the look of confused anger. She tilted her head, oblivious to what he meant.

"Asking a question." She simply answered again.

"No, I mean the way your acting. My mission is to kill you." The man pulled his pistol out just as before. Slowly he brought the gun to Eureka's head. Not a spec of fear tinged at her muscles like she thought would.

"At the moment you need me. Your chances of survival are much greater if I'm alive." Casually she finished and faced the black LFO. Eoin stared at her without making any more signs of movement, except the tight glare in his eyes. Finally his hand dropped to his side, and he sighed.

"You have a point, for the moment." Anger drained from his voice. Turning to the ocean, he stared at the setting sun. Eureka held her hands behind her and stared at him instead. Everything about it was strange, but not uncomfortable. Actually, for her, it was the exact opposite. Who ever this man was, she wanted to know him more. Then, something else took her state of thought. Gently she raised her hand to her forehead, the pain was gone.

"Sunset, what should we do? The radio doesn't work." Eoin sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "What's going on? Where in this world are we? Most of all… to cooperate with enemy I've never met before. What am I saying, you're the first." He said through a laugh.

"You'll have to withstand non cooperation. For now we're both stranded."

"What makes you say we're stranded?"

"The black LFO." She waved at his vehicle. "You can no longer hear it?"

"Yes… I've said that."

"I'm sure it has a good reason, just as the Xellien does." She walked over to Xellien and climbed inside. After a moment she stepped back out holding a hefty bag. Once back on the ground, she walked over to him and dropped it, "That is my emergency kit."

"That?" He pointed down at the overly large blue pack. Eureka nodded innocently while crouching down to pull stuff out.

"Alright… might as well set up for the night… still…" His eyes fell on his large black LFO. It was large, dark, but sleek, "Why have you become silent?"

---

"All forces have called off. OT and GS are coming in for a landing." Svent called from his console.

"Alright, have you found Eureka's LFO yet?" Irik asked. He looked as if no sleep had given him comfort the night before.

"No sir… I'm sorry." He sounded apologetic with his answer. Irik leaned against his console and rubbed his dry eyes.

"It's ok Irik. You're giving up to easily." Artisen shared his sparking comment, "We both know Eureka. Two hours doesn't mean she's dead." His energetic tone shifted to serious. Gently Irik nodded and stood up from his chair.

"I know Artisen. I think I'm just going to sleep. Last night I couldn't." With that he started to leave the room. Artisen watched him suspiciously.

"What happened, where is our mom!" Maeter's voice exploded from the door. Irik stood in front of both Maeter and Linck. His eyes were closed, too tired to express any annoyance or anger.

"Sorry kids." He patted their heads just before leaving. Linck watched him walk away in horror.

"What is that supposed to mean!" Maeter screamed through the command room. Artisen didn't even attempt to hold back the look of aggravation on his face.

"Over exaggerating idiot." He sighed.

Irik sat at his smooth desk. It was blank, holding no objects of any kind.

"What am I supposed to do now? What's wrong with me?" He let his head rest against the desk's cool surface, "The past few nights I haven't been able to get to sleep… but-." Such a timid knock came from the door, that Irik's train of thinking was shattered. He leaped from his chair and opened it. To his suspicion, there was standing Kess. Quickly he knelt down. Her eyes were dim with sadness. He knew there was a question coming, and he already knew the answer.

"Where's mom?" She asked the undeniable question. Irik sighed and tightly wrapped his arms around the smaller girl.

"I don't know where she is, or when she's coming back, but I know she'll be back." He said with strong confidence. A voice he learned to use over the years, thanks to Kess and Eureka.

Kess held him back, her thin arms connecting around him.

"She'll be back."

---

"That it?" Eoin's voice sounded thin against the night air. The ocean relieved its ghostly crashes against the beach, echoing back to them. They both had set up a small camp up the back, far from the ocean's deathly rolling grip.

"Yes, that's all we can set up for the night." Eureka responded. Between them settled a small fire. Softly it crackled and popped thin little strips of flames into the air, the only site of chaos that brought comfort.

Eoin lifted his head to see Eureka staring dazed into the fire. She was lost in its glorious glow. There was also something else about her that he noticed, her hair. It softly hung from her head, catching the glow of the fire. He turned his eyes away after loosing interest.

"Tomorrow, I bet the LFOs will be working again." He commented before lying down in his sleeping bag.

"I don't think so." She responded back. Eoin frowned and turned over on his side.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure… but I don't think it will be working." Eoin sighed at her response. Decidedly, he turned his back to the fire to fall asleep. Eureka instantly turned her eyes to him as he did so. Gently she stopped hugging her knees and lied down in the sleeping bag.

A few hours had passed. The night had become thicker with the thousands of stars that hung above them. Eureka was still awake, having more difficulty falling asleep than ever before, besides after Renton's death.

Carefully she propped herself up on tired arms. Her body was fatigued, but her mind was on full throttle. She couldn't hold it back anymore, so she looked at the man, this time to take everything in about him.

Now he was lying on his back. Everything in his face resembled Renton. An urge was burning inside her, to do something, to just reach and hold his face, and confirm that it was real. Yet as she raised her hand to reach across, she quickly drew it back.

"Xellien, I remember all the other times. I can't stand it anymore. It's been so long sense I've." She reached behind and felt her back, "Why am I feeling this? Before I've been confused, but this is more than just hope. It's never felt this strong." She stopped, unable to turn away from the site of Eoin.

"Who are you?" She begged in silent voice. Tightly she wrapped her arms around her legs. Whether it was Renton or not she desperately wanted to know. There was no way.

"Renton." Her muffled voice called as she rested her face in her arms.

---

"Where?" A voice shot through Eureka's ears. Her eyes snapped open. Night was long gone, defeated by the morning wake. Tiredly she lifted her head to see Eoin standing. From last night she was still in a sitting position.

"What is it?" She asked. Wincing as a sharp aching pain traveled across her back.

"The LFOs are gone." He gritted his teeth while looking up and down the beach. The words knocked Eureka fully awake.

"Gone?" She immediately stood up, the sleeping bag slipping off as she did so. She stepped beside him and glanced around the beach. It was empty, only filled with dry broken sticks.

""They're gone… how? They couldn't have been-."

"Stolen, no." Eureka finished and answered his question.

"Then where." He didn't sound un-agreeable, but everything else was unlikely. Even Eureka didn't know how to answer that question, or what to answer with. She was just as confused as he was. Still, she couldn't believe that the Xellien would have simply been stolen. No, she was absolutely sure that the Xellien would have reacted, and she knew this with confidence.

"I don't know, but now that it has happened. We might as well decide what to do next." Her eyes drifted to the forest behind them. Eoin jerked in her direction.

"What, our LFOs are gone, we have to get up and search… or something!" His anger didn't hide the desperation building within him.

"No, they've left us."

"Left us? That doesn't make any sense."

"I didn't think so either, but now we have to move on. Do you really think we'll find the LFOs by searching along the beach? For now… we are stranded." She said nonchalantly. Eoin nodded his head grudgingly.

"Alright, where do we start?" He titled his head quizzically. She replied by packing up her stuff, and starting for the forest.

"What are you doing? We can't just walk in there. We don't even know if we're on an island." He watched her ignore every word he was saying, "Fine." He sighed and packed up his own things.

They entered past the trees thick with leaves. It was slightly dim, the trees around them acting as shade against the blazing sun. Little plant life survived the ground, having soft soil to press against their feet, like a dry mud. Moss crawled up the trunk of the aged life that surrounded them. Yet, little sites of animals to be seen.

"How long do we plan to blindly travel through this forest?" Eoin commented casually, but he said it with a spec of arrogance.

"Until we find something." Eureka was unaffected by his mood, but she couldn't keep him out of her mind.

"Something… right…" He sighed, a habit Eureka noticed he owned.

A few hours just passed by seamlessly. Eureka continued to walk through the forest, but even the ach of fatigue was crawling up her legs. She pushed a branch out of her way. When she let go it flung back, which was received by a loud thwack, and followed by a groan. Twisting around, she saw Eoin holding his nose in pain.

"Are you alright?" Her hand twitched to reach out, but she resisted the temptation. He nodded and waved his hand for her to continue. She turned around and continued walking, hearing him sneeze as she did so.

"If we don't find something soon, we'll have to turn back. Think about it, we don't even know where we are." His voice sounded muffled.

"I don't think that will be happening."

"What?" Eoin frowned as Eureka turned past a tree. She stepped out onto a small path. Looking back and forth she noticed it was wedged in between the crowding trees.

"Well, at least we know this island is inhabited… This can't be an island then. We must be on one of continents." Eoin nodded with both brows raised in surprised satisfaction.

"Yes, now we just need to decide which way to go." Carefully she studied both directions, until turning one way and starting down the path.

"Wait, how do you know this is the way?" Eoin complained, not convinced by her choice.

"The other way would be towards the ocean." She tossed back one of her simple replies. He rolled his eyes and grudgingly followed.

"Sure."

Time was still slipping by, empty from its usual grip around them. The ach in Eureka's leg was now becoming thicker. She tilted her head towards the sky, seeing an orange haze breaching through the cracks in the leaves.

"That much time has passed already?" She said through a faulted breath, and her head fell in fatigue. Before she had been able to keep her mind elsewhere, mostly on the one following her; but now it was failing. Even so, as more time passed, she couldn't keep him off her mind. Desperately she wanted to know who this man really was, and why he really looked like Renton. Although he looked like him, he didn't act like him. There were small tendencies she could find similarities in, but not enough.

"Eureka, look up ahead." Eoin's call snapped Eureka's head forward. Around them the trees were becoming thinner, more spread out. Farther in the distance a small opening could be seen. Eureka took in a deep breath, letting the salty ocean air soak her lungs. It was both refreshing and tingling at the same time. The feeling didn't stop her from smiling. Ever sense Earth had revealed itself, she had fallen in love with the ocean. It reminded her of the time with just her, Renton, and kids. Back when they were alone as a family, and she could just be with Renton. The ocean was one of the last few places that allowed her to step back into the past. It was where the keys to her memories could be found.

"A city?" She asked him with out looking back.

"Maybe, we're almost there. How do we know we can trust this region?"

"I'm not sure I understand." She frowned at his odd question.

"Well, how do we know this isn't P.O.F. territory?"

"I'm an ally to the P.O.F.. They will not harm me, and I won't let them harm you."

"Oh, well, I guess we're safe if they are the U.F.. So the same trade back. I'll make sure you're protected."

"How can I be sure you'll keep that promise?" Eureka remarked under her breath, too silent for him to hear.

Finally they reached to the end of the road. The path had led them into a wide open area. It was a pleasing site, to see a few buildings. Now they were in a very small town, it only having a few buildings. They were of an old design, built with wood, most likely from the tree around them.

"We should find some help." Eureka carefully looked around at the other buildings.

"How about there." Eoin stepped passed her and started for one of the houses. Following his direction she saw two people talking, a man and a woman. Eoin opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. The action caught Eureka slightly by surprised, wondering why he had done it. Seeing that Eoin wasn't going to do anything, she took action herself.

"Hello!" Eureka called in a louder voice, still maintaining its smooth tone. The two people turned their heads.

"Visitors?" The women asked. Eureka didn't answer until both she and Eoin were next to them.

"Yes, we've been stranded here. We're wondering if we could receive a map on exactly where we are." Eureka spoke in a polite voice, but not an enthusiastic one.

"Really, stranded here? How?" The man said with excited interest.

"Deen…" The woman dully said his name.

"Sorry Cathy." He nodded at Eoin and Eureka apologetically.

"You're on one of the smaller continents, a neutral one. I couldn't help but notice your U.F. uniform." She glanced at Eoin, "We are not apart of the U.F., or P.O.F.. Although there are some cities that inspire to convert this continent to do so. I'm sorry, I'm rambling. This is Rella." A smile took the woman's face.

"Rella?... impossible. That's was a long way off from where we were fighting?" Eoin almost choked at the information. Eureka was taking it much better than he was, but even she couldn't help feeling confused.

"Is there a man we can speak to who will give us a map of this continent?" She tilted her head as she asked. Cathy pointed her hand at one of the few houses.

"There, he is Deen's grandfather. He's also a historian." Eureka and Eoin thanked Cathy before heading off towards the house. The small steps that led up to the door creaked when they walked up their rough surface. Carefully they placed themselves in front of the door. Eureka lifted her hand and knocked a few times.

"Neutral zone?... this makes me nervous." Eoin muttered from besides Eureka.

"Why?"

"Because the U.F. doesn't communicate with neutral zones. They're neither allies nor threats, so we generally leave them be. Which in my opinion is a pretty pathetic strategy." He grumbled slightly.

"What do you mean b-" Eureka started but was abruptly stopped when the door opened. A man peeked his head through. His hair was a dirty gray, and a beard extended from his chin, as did a mustache from his nose. He squinted at the two, several creases traveling up between his brows. The man looked worried, as if pondering too many question for too long, and giving no time for rest.

"Can I help you?" His voice was small and crisp, even gentle. The frown on his face lightened when he spotted Eureka.

"Yes, we've been stranded here, and we could use some more information on where we are. We know this place is Rella, but we're not sure exactly where this continent is on a map. We heard you might have one." Kindness filled her voice as she asked. The man closed his eyes and nodded weakly. He then raised his hands for them to come in.

"Aye, my name is Derethin, but you can call me Dern." He cleared his throat as the three of them stepped through his door. The inside of the house was neat. There was a table off to the side of a window, two chairs placed at its sides. Four book cases lined the side of the wall, conveniently cluttered with thousands of books; but that's not what really caught their eyes. Just off to the left side was a desk with a few papers, and just above it were two larges maps. Each one revealed the Earth's geographical standing. One was very old, turning slightly yellow. While the other one was completely new, white and clean. That wasn't the only difference. Both had different labels to the lands, and each one had noticeably difference in shape.

"This is where you are." He lifted his shaking bony hand at the newer map. It landed a finger on one of the smaller continents neatly themed Rella.

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but the maps are only similar, not exact duplicates. That's because this one is a family heirloom. I've had it for several years of my life. The actual reason I got into this profitless work." Shortly he paused and coughed into his hand. Eureka turned her head to quickly see Eoin's reaction. She frowned when she saw a look of horror on his face.

"I'm not sure why they're different. I think it might have something to do with the continents actually shifting over the years. You can also see here." He placed his hand on the older map, the same place where Rella should be, "It used to be called South America. You can see the transformation here, in the tail. It's more curved in this latest geographical map."

"Dang it… I was afraid of this." Eoin gripped his fists together tightly.

"What?" Eureka turned to him in confusion. He stepped up closer to the map, closely analyzing the large continent.

"This is a dead continent, just like the one above it. It's only been eleven years to populate the planet. The U.F. decided to start off small, and we noticed the P.O.F. was following the same lead." He traced his finger across the ocean, and landed it on one of the bigger continents.

"This is the area where the U.F. settled. As I'm sure you've noticed. We haven't made much movement except in this area. Since you're not really apart of the P.O.F., I'll just tell you. The P.O.F. settled here, and here." He pointed at two different places. On the older map, the U.F. had taken a continent that would have been Africa; And the next two spots, the P.O.F. settlements, pointed to Asia and Australia, "These are producing and harvesting quickly. It won't take long until there are several major cities. But these over here." He pointed back to Rella and the continent above it, "These continents are considered the dead continents. No… I mean absolutely no communication. Any one who settled here had half the sense to make it out of the war happening over there." He finished with a rumble of annoyance. Eureka stepped closer and studied the map herself.

"Completely out of reach?" She whispered with wide eyes.

"Yes. The U.F. didn't even bother to set up trading routes here, or communication towers." Pausing he studied the odd expression on her face.

"But Kess… she'll." Her voice started to quiver. Closing her eyes she took in a few deep silent breaths, "Sir." She started and turned to the elderly man. He frowned and cocked his head.

"Yes?" His muffled voice came in reply.

"Is there any way off this continent?" Any worry or stress in her voice was gone. Once again it became professional and ready.

"Not much. All here came here on the idea of not leaving. Some of the vehicles used to travel here were dismantled and used for other machines, possibly farming. This land is for those who don't want to be apart of the war happening over there." He stopped and looked between the two, "But there is a city I've heard of. They are attempting to make outside contact, a transporting company of sorts. It's been awhile sense I've heard of their production. So I don't know if they're complete." The man cleared his throat again.

"Where?" Eoin asked in subtle excitement.

"Here." He pointed at the older map. His finger traced the jagged edge of the coast line of North America. It stopped at the very tip, "And you're here." His finger landed at the bottom of South America, "You have a long trip." He commented with raspy amusement.

"We should start now." Eureka suddenly said with full determination. She turned around and started for the door. Eoin grabbed her arm to stop her. A chilling feeling spiked her arm at the touch, and she snapped it away. The rough action caused Eoin to frown, but he ignored it.

"Sorry, but I completely disagree. We can't leave now. We have to rest for the night. I don't know if you've noticed, but it's dark outside." He jabbed his thumb at a window behind him. Hesitantly she peeked her head over his shoulder. The window was dim with a dark shade of blue. night had arrived faster than even she assumed.

"You're right… is there a place we can sleep?" Her voice was slightly solemn as she asked the elderly man. Dern frowned, concerned.

"The house to the left of this one should have something you can use."

"Thank you for everything." She nodded her head before leaving for the door. Eoin watched her with increasing interest. Shaking his head, he quickened to follow her.

---

"Kess." Irik started to write down once again. His whole body was heavy. Yet, no matter how long he lied in bed, sleep would not take his pains away. So he decided once again to stay up and write. There were things Kess needed to know, so he obligated himself to write them down.

"Today was the day that Eureka disappeared. We're going to search for her. By the time I give this to you she'll be back… if she will ever come back.

Now isn't the time to discuss this though. Lately my mind had been bubbling with topics that I need to write down before I forget them. When I give you this journal, I'll make sure you're old enough to understand the topic I'm about to discuss.

The war started during the same time Renton was still alive. Always there has been a war going on. First it was with the coralians, intelligent beings the U.F. convinced were evil. They're doing something similar to the P.O.F.. They've convinced their people that the P.O.F. is an enemy. One thing you must understand, Kess, is that the U.F. used to be run by the Sages. Three people who were _supposedly_ filled with wisdom. I really never knew them; I was around your age at the time. They were killed by a man named Dewey, who then killed himself. A year after this incident, one of the heirs to the sages appeared. Her name was Rekina. I actually knew her in person. She was very convincing… corrupt would be the best word to describe her.

With the help of a device I made called the Inverse Drive, she tricked your adopted mother Eureka. You must also understand that she tricked me into making the Inverse Drive, or rather finish its development. In pursuit, Eureka eventually conquered the effects of the Inverse Drive and killed Rekina. This started the war that has been going on for the past ten years. Instead of seeking another sort of heir, the U.F. took their highest ranked leaders and grouped them together. After doing so, they became hungry for more power. They continued to fight the P.O.F., and the P.O.F. fought them right back. Although several technological advanced have been made on the S.U.s, the P.O.F. has made their own technology to counter them.

Still, this war has been carrying on for a pointlessly long time. Some of the people in our crew are perfect examples of that. Such as Terina and Svent. They were both apart of the U.F. at one time. Terina was a fantastic scientist, helping making advances that even astound me a little. Hence why she is my assistant engineer in the crew. Svent was a good friend of Terina. She was luckily able to convince Svent to follow along with her. His ability to organize information within seconds and input in a language anyone can understand… is amazing. He took a lot of stress off Eureka, taking the position for both communications, trapar levels, and radar.

It's been a long time since you've known both Terina and Svent. They joined the ship six years ago, our hardest time in the war. We found them while landing at a city. To even my surprise, they were trying to find us. It was just by chance that we actually ran into them. Terina was really the one to convince Eureka to let her and Svent into the crew. They've made fine additions to this ship. Don't really know where we would be with out them.

For now that is all I'm going to write today, Kess. Don't know what time you're in, but good night." Irik settled the pencil down and held his aching hand.

"Now I think I'm ready to sleep." He sighed and started for his bed. Just as he was about to plop down, a knock came from the door. A loud breath exhaled from his lungs as he walked over and opened theit. He was slightly surprised when he saw Artisen standing before him, not looking very happy.

"What is it?" Irik asked, though didn't sound too interested for an answer.

"You're starting to tick me off Irik. What the heck was that about?" Artisen yelled within a whisper.

"Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" He muttered and closed his eyes.

"No you weren't. Your light was on, I saw through the crack underneath the door." Irik gritted his teeth, sighing in agitation.

"Then what about earlier?"

"The way you reacted was idiotic. It took me half an hour to calm Maeter and Linck down."

"Well… I couldn't." Slowly he found himself being pulled into the conversation, no option of escape, "I was… they needed to know." Artisen laughed, as if he said something stupid.

"You're really burrowing deep into my agitation. Of course they needed to know, but you made it sound like she died!" He yelled, flinching at his abrupt volume increase. Irik nodded while frowning in his own guilt.

"I know Artisen, I really do know. Lately… I haven't been feeling so great. Maybe I should check in with doctor Ostler. I don't know what I was thinking, you're right." His head fell down, having no idea what else to say.

"Don't worry Irik." Artisen reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, "The U.F. have been piling a lot on us lately, but don't let that diverge the appropriate judgment. Please, don't do that again. Maeter's screams causes every hair on my body to stand up, and then shrivel up and died." He paused, noticing the extreme fatigue in Irik's face, "you really should get some sleep and talk to Ostler."

"Thank you Artisen, I will. I've just been so tired of late. See you in the morning."

"That's not to far off from now." Artisen chuckled while turning to leave.

"I know." Irik muttered.

---

"Disappeared?" A man questioned through the dimly lit room. It was all very small and cramped. In the middle sat a large, yet lonely table. Only one chair would be used for its sheer size. On the ceiling was a wide blue light, giving off a very low haze of color against the room.

The man's face was too dark for Daia to tell who it was. He sat at the head of the large table, while she stood at the other end, ready to answer.

"Yes, disappeared." Suddenly she felt like a machine, just repeating the answer.

"With Eureka… that is?" His voice was too casual, too unprofessional. The man seemed just like another guy walking on the street. It bugged Daia on a level she couldn't understand.

"Yes, I apologize. Will you inform me on what this is all about? How is it the U.F. leaders gave you this much power?" Daia insisted, barely keeping her voice from demanding the answer.

"I'm sorry, but your need here has worn out. Please attend to your usual duties. I'll call you again when the next move is to be made." The man leaned back in his seat. Daia gritted her teeth and charged out of the room. When the door slipped open, it briefly spilled white eminence into the area. She stepped into a long white hall.

"You don't look so peachy there." Another man said from beside. She twisted her head around, her blond hair swinging in the process. Opening her mouth, she was about to tell in annoyance, but stopped when she noticed it was Maurice leaning against the wall.

"He didn't tell me anything… in fact, he just had me leave the room. I don't trust him, but the U.F. leaders do… why? This guy just popped out of no where. Why are they having me serve under him?" Daia sighed in complete agitation.

"Perhaps they couldn't think of anyone else that would suit the job better. In fact, I bet you were the only one they could trust to do his work…" Maurice stood up, brushing back his solid black hair.

"I guess you could be right." Daia said, but didn't sound as sure.

"Have faith Daia. Judge to quickly and judgment will take you just as fast. Sadly, justice wasn't built on a foundation of mercy. You'll find yourself falling before you even stand." Maurice started to walk away. He stopped when he noticed she wasn't following.

"Maurice, where do you find these words to say? Half of them I don't even understand." He smiled in amusement.

"I'm just saying, don't worry." He raised an eye brow mockingly. Daia shook her head and followed him along.

---

"That was a kind a city." Eureka commented as they walked along the rocky road.

"Letting us sleep for free, and then giving us supplies to make it to the next city." Eoin yawned and nodded in agreement, "but it was also a very small city. What was it, a population of only a fifty people?"

"One day they might become strong. If they continue to live they way they do." She said and looked over the blue sky.

"Maybe, they're a little too generous in their givings. They might find a point where they'll give too much."

"There's something I learned from some one very important to me. I didn't realize it until later on, after I made a mistake. But he taught me that when you give, you receive from places you'd never suspect. Sometimes we can't even understand how life works that way."

"And who taught you this?" Eoin couldn't help but ask. She turned her head and looked back at him. He frowned when she turned back around without answering, "well?" Again, she ignored him.

They walked for hours, time having little grip on their minds. Eureka couldn't help but notice this. Ever sense Renton's death, time had constantly been taunting her. She needed to know the seconds, minutes, and hours that would pass by. Now she didn't care. Before, thinking of time gave her something to do, but knowing time has an aftertaste. Things started to slow down, and there were times she couldn't stand it. With Eoin, time was no longer occupying her mind, instead it was him. It almost seemed that when Eureka forgot time, time forgot her. Something about Eoin was changing her, and she no longer feared change. In fact, it intrigued her. She couldn't believe she was letting this temptation of change to take her. Whether it was because she was sick of the person she was, or just wanted to taste something new. So far, she was liking it.

"Eoin?" Eureka called back to him. He quickened his pace until they were walking alongside of each other.

"Yes?"

"What was the name of your LFO? The black demon one?" She looked at him in the eye. After a moment he couldn't hold eye contact with her anymore.

"Derkar, why do you ask?" He frowned in total obliviousness.

"Derkar… The name fits its chaotic look, and its smooth design."

"You didn't answer my question, why did you ask?" He absolutely insisted on knowing, so she decided not to deny him.

"I need to know you, as you need to know me. What more do you know of me other then Eureka?" She didn't smile but continued to look forward. He looked closely at her eyes. They were staring some where else, some where he couldn't see. So he continued to look harder and harder. Maybe in some impossible way, he would see the reflection of that world in her eyes, because she was dazed by it. His head snapped away when she looked at him.

"Renton." She said before looking forward again.

"Huh?" Once again he found himself looking at her.

"That was his name, the one who taught me things no other could."

"Renton… I've heard that from some where before." He closed his eyes and thought about it carefully, "what was his last name?"

"I wonder." Eureka replied. She could remember, but she didn't feel like it was time to tell him. Renton Thurston was a person that Eureka kept close in her heart. She wasn't about to let his full name slip so easily. It still felt solid within just her, like the name itself belong just to her. The thought brought a very small smile to her lips, a real smile.

"I can't hold it back anymore. I have no idea who you are, but you are strange. I don't mean like crazy weird… or… I'm not sure how to even explain it. For now it bugs me." He quickened his pace to get ahead of her. She didn't mind watching him from behind. All she wanted to know was the peace of something he was hiding.

More time was passing by; Some what like a distance companion that Eureka once knew very well. The sky was still bright and blue, but the sun was past the sky's peek. Ever so slowly it would eventually reach the horizon's end.

"I think I see the city." Eoin stirred slowly, more concentrated on what he was looking at rather then what he was saying.

"Are you sure?" Eureka asked and stepped up next to him. He took a glimpse at her before pointing at something sticking out of the trees.

"Actually no, I'm not sure. But that looks like it could be some sort of building roof. This road leads right to its direction." He reached in his back pack and pulled out a water bottle. Swiftly he lifted it up and took in a few good gulps.

"Good, my ankles hurt." Slowly the tip of the building became clearer. As it did so, it became increasingly obvious that they had reached the city, or a city. They breached a set of tree, and right behind them was a medium sized town. There was a good amount of buildings. Even people were walking about a small little marketplace. Eureka felt refreshed by the new flow of life.

"Amazing. These people have built quiet a bit within just a few years. If the other cities are as big as this one, and there're as many as the older man had suggested. Then this continent might start thriving. Even so, this city is small." He scratched his head and looked around at the buildings neatly aligned against the roads.

"So this is how it starts." Eureka began to walk deeper in.

"How what starts?"

"A world within a world. It's possible that at one point, all the cities will group under a single government."

"I guess so… well this is where we're settling for the night then. Tomorrow we'll pick things up again."

"Yes, again." She echoed his word whimsically. Eoin glanced over at her and rolled his eyes.

"Strange is the only word."

----------------------------

A.Q.N. :

Sorry about the delay. I was a little slow this week, only cramming in a little writing each day. I also ran into this fascinating anime called Jyu Oh Sei. Look it up sometime. Sadly, it's only eleven episodes long, and the end leaves you feeling a little empty. It was also done by Bones. Well, to my reviewers, I'm so grateful for the reviews! Please continue to review. I really like to hear what you guys have to say. So don't stop, I beg you! Also, for those who don't review… please review! I also noticed the comment on my typos. I truly do apologize for that. When I read my own writing, I have this horrible habit of filling the spots subconsciously. So proof reading really doesn't do much. I'd have to wait a month, but I won't keep you guys waiting that long. 

Once again, thank you for reviewing. I appreciate it more than you know. Because an oreo isn't an oreo without that white cream inside. 


	3. Chapter 3: Thinning The Ice

**Chapter 3: Thinning The Ice**

**It was asked, so I thought I would answer. Eoin is pronounced like this: **

**EE-YON. **

**Hope that helps you guys… corrupted hopes… heh heh…**

Eureka's eyes slowly drifted open. She was lying in a bed with a single blanket wrapped around her. Drowsily she turned her eyes to the window where she could see the sky turning a deep blue. Pulling the covers up to her mouth, she looked around the rest of the room. Eoin was sleeping on a separate bed. Other then him, the room was empty. They were sleeping in a small room, the one they had rented from the night before.

As quietly as she was able, Eureka slipped out of her bed and walked over to Eoin. Gently she knelt down and examined his face. His breath was slow and smooth. After a moment of listening to it she found herself breathing in sync. Now they were the same, it flushed her body with a warm feeling.

"Renton." She leaned in closer, their faces almost meeting. Doubt was pouring from her mind, almost gone, "You have to know… But how can it be? Ten years with nothing." Her voice was so silent and pristine, "I wish it was you." Standing up she walked over to a door. She opened it with ease and stepped inside.

Two hours later and they were ready to go. Night was gone, morning was aging, and day was coming.

"You got everything?" Eoin asked through a half sigh. Eureka nodded gingerly and slipped on her back pack.

"I don't think we'll be able to make it to the next city by tonight. We might need to stop and camp out." A groan sounded behind her as she said so.

"I figured as much. Let's just hope that we don't have to." He slipped his back pack on as well and stepped out of the room. The door led to the outside directly. Eureka looked back at the row of buildings behind them. It was just a collection of rooms, but they were better then nothing.

"Ok, we got to get going now. Let's take tha-" A voice calling to them interrupted Eoin's speech.

"Hey, you!" Frowning, Eoin turned around to see a younger female running towards them. She looked around eighteen, from what Eureka could tell. The woman stopped and took in a few deep breaths.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I recognized the U.F. pilot symbol on your back." She smiled and stood strait. Eoin and Eureka stood, waiting for the reason to why they had been stopped, "My name is Tress, and I could really use a person of your skills, or I mean we could."

"What do you mean?" Eureka was completely confused.

"Well, we have an LFO and a stock of supplies that need to be moved." Stopping, she chuckled a few times, "we've had it for awhile. The person who originally owned it left the city. We really need to move these supplies to a building. It would really help us out a lot. You do know how to pilot an LFO, right?" She said with absolute friendliness.

"That reminds me, I need a new set of cloths. No, we can't help you. There's places we got to be before dark." He shrugged and noticed the sad look coming over her face, "Sorry."

"Wait." Eureka stepped forward, taking the girl's notice, "We can help you for a brief moment. Where is the machine?" The girl's mood suddenly brightened to an emanating glow.

"Follow me!" She almost cheered, and then ran off. Eureka followed, along with Eoin.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for this." Eoin pressed at her in infuriation.

"We give, we receive. Time is irrelevant at the moment." She continued walking, holding a blank face. He sighed in annoyance.

"Dang it, now I know we'll be sleeping in the woods." He growled and they continued to walk. Tress led them behind a building. When they walked out into the area, they found a group of people. Several large crates were placed next to a standby LFO.

"How did all this get here?" Eoin couldn't hold back the question.

"It's been here for a while. We're afraid of damaging it, so we need to use the LFO. Actually, it's been here since I have and the whole city." She smiled at him before stepping up to the group.

"Oh good, you did get the U.F. pilot!" An older man smiled with generosity. He hopped down from the LFO and walked towards the three of them.

"My name is Ken. Thank you for your help, we're pretty hopeless at the moment." He chuckled, very similar to Tress's. Eureka also noticed an odd resemblance in their faces.

"Ok ok, let's just get this done." Agitation thrilled in his voice, he wasn't making an attempt to hold back his annoyance.

"I agree, the faster the better!" Ken laughed and followed him up the LFO. Meanwhile, Eureka and Tress stood aside.

"Thank you for your help." Tress turned to look at Eureka.

"No problem." Eureka shared her own smile. Her attention was on Eoin. She wanted to see how he would act in this situation.

"You two a couple?" The question forced Eureka to twist her head in surprise. She wanted to say no, but on the other hand… maybe they were? If it really was Renton, then it could be possible.

"I don't know." It was said with all intent of honesty, but Tress smiled suspiciously.

"I see." She turned her head to the LFO. It had stood up and was now carrying one of the large crates. Only ten minutes passed until the crates were all moved.

"Too bad this thing doesn't have a board." Eoin sighed in his disappointment. He jumped down from the yellow LFO. Softly the wind blew around them, cooling down the area.

"Thank you so much!" Eoin's eye twitched at the sound of Ken's voice.

"It was no problem, really." He laughed in reply. Eureka saw through his false emotion.

"But I have another favor to ask…" Ken scratched his neck and looked around unsurely, "You've already done quite a bit. I hate to ask more, but this LFO is pretty much useless here. If you could just teach me the general idea of controlling it. I would be very grateful!" The man tightly closed his eyes, ready for rejection.

"I'll do it." Eureka said with out a second of consideration. Eoin though, was angered at her sudden burst of charity. He opened his mouth, ready to yell, but he frowned and stopped. He looked around, confused about something that was only apparent to him. Eureka saw this out of the corner of her eye. Hopeless or confused? Both of those emotions are what she saw in him. Then again, she thought she saw something else, realization. To her dismay, it wasn't the time to talk.

"You will?" Ken sighed, as if releasing a breath of stress from his body, "thank you!" Eureka smiled and nodded. Without another moment to waste, they climbed up the LFO. She pointed out controls, buttons, knobs, meters, and everything. While doing all of this, she constantly thought Eoin was looking at her. For one moment she twisted her head to see; but when she did so, he turned his head away.

---

"That idea is a little crazy." Artisen rubbed his chin and shook his head. He, Irik, and Svent were sitting around a small sphere like table. They were all in a small dark room, and the table projected a blue glowing map. Parts of the map were actually floating off the table, projected in mid air. A technology that Irik helped design himself.

"This information center will hold anything we need to know. If we can get you in, Artisen, I have no doubt that they will know where Eureka is." Irik jabbed his finger down at the map.

"A little risky, that region has little cloud cover, and hardly any high mountains… we'll be hanging pretty low." The comment couldn't be helped from Svent. Irik sighed, agreement wasn't his friend this day.

"We can try…" Artisen stirred too slowly to tell whether it was sarcasm or not, "I haven't pulled the gear out for some time. You better be right about this." A smile curved the tips of Irik's mouth and he stood up.

"Thank you Artisen, I owe you one!" With that Irik left the room.

"Actually." Artisen nodded to himself as he stood up, "He owes me a lot more than one." Chucking, he left the room, leaving Svent to himself.

"I could use lunch." Svent said in a drowsy voice.

---

"Well, this is the deal. It's been two days since we've been here." Eoin said while packing up his last few things. Eureka could be heard from the bathroom, brushing her teeth with that scratching crisp sound. With a few more back and forths, a spurting sound came and she stepped out.

"I know, as early in the morning as you wanted." She said it so casually that Eoin couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth. It was like she was trying to make him feel guilty. But the truth was she wasn't.

"Point is we need to get moving. If we run into more people asking for help… Then we're going to be here forever."

"I agree, is something wrong?" She noticed the look of anger on his face. Frowning he sighed and shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, let's just go." Eureka watched him turn towards the door and walk out. She really didn't know what was wrong, or what was making him angered. Though, ideas hinted at her mind. But it didn't matter.

Tiredly she followed him out the door. The outside was very quiet, but not ominous. Her head fell back to glance at he sky's dim lighting. It was of a perfect deep blue, calm with the town it was looking over. She could feel its relaxing glow merging with her own body. The feeling was good. This was a site she now liked, a site she hardly ever saw due to her waking up so late on Night Iris. Then other thoughts were creeping upon her mind. How many other things had she missed? Kess must have awakened so many times waiting and waiting for the site of her mother… or so called mother.

"Eureka?" She snapped her head down to see Eoin giving her a strange look.

"Sorry, I like this time of day. The light settles just right, not to bright or dark." Gently she breathed and started to follow him.

"Eureka, Eoin?" A new voice found its way towards them. They both turned around to see Ken running up to them. Eoin let out a growling sigh of annoyance. The situation seemed to repeat itself like a broken record.

"Yes?" Eureka quietly called back to him. Ken stopped and looked between the two.

"Thank you for teaching me all that you could, I'm incredibly grateful. Thing is, I forgot to give you this." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small box, "Inside this is quiet a bit of money. You saved me even more money, so I don't mind giving this away. Out here, it would be really expensive to pay for a messenger, and a pilot guy willing to do that job and teach. Not only that! But come out here at all. Travel is really slow on these islands. To put it as it is, no one really cares about getting around at the moment. We've all just practically settled." He grinned and shook both of their hands.

"Thank you, we'll be needing this more than you know." Eureka smiled.

"I figured, since you two are traveling about." Friendly as always, he waved and turned back for his house.

"I'm actually surprised." Eoin sounded truly impressed with what just happened. Carefully she pulled off the cap on the box. Inside was a large sum of money, something they would be using on their trip very much.

"Help comes from all places. We'll definitely need this." Eoin gawked at the money inside.

"For such a small town, it sure has some wealthy people." The comment couldn't be helped. Eureka took the small box and placed it inside her back pack.

"We're finished here. Let's go to the next city." She quickly said, and they started to leave.

Hours passed, and dawn had turned the sky to day. It was unfortunate, Eureka loved to breathe the after taste of night. She had been walking along side with Eoin, as she knew she would for a while. Still, she didn't mind this at all. The air around them was cool and soft, and the sun had little hate to burn them. For the first time in a long time, she almost felt excited, or happy. This exact feeling was one she was sure she had forgotten. Renton was the one that made her this way… but if that really was true.

"Hey, Eureka." Eoin shoved her out of the place of thoughts. She turned her head to him and tilted with taunting curiosity, "I noticed that… you." He started hesitantly, like he was struggling against something stronger than himself, "I'm not really sure how to explain it… Or how to really explain you. I was told to assassinate you. But you've really put a lot of trust in me. I'll admit that I haven't met many like you. I mean…" He looked around in annoyance, and then shook his head, giving up. Eureka didn't want him to stop. She wanted to know what else he had to say.

"Please don't stop." She smoothly pressed the words at him.

"No, it really isn't important at the moment." From then on he ignored her, looking every where else but at her. It hurt slightly, the feeling of getting so close to what she wanted so badly and then pushed away. Now that seemed a little unlikely. Only a taste, not a bite.

Those last few hours were surprisingly uncomfortable. Eoin wouldn't make another word towards her, but neither did Eureka to him. Sometimes her imagination was getting the better of her. She felt like reaching out to take his hand, but knew that would be incredibly awkward for him, besides strange for her. It kept pecking her mind, telling her it was impossible, but the temptation, the need for it to be true was overwhelmingly strong. Sunset had arrived for them, encasing the sky in a universe of orange. Clouds were stripping across the sky, much like waves do before they crash. Even while they walked Eureka felt slightly taunted by the trees. They were taller here and absorbed more of the light around them. She didn't fear what ever could be in the wide forest. It was just the site that it symbolized.

---

"Is the device operating as it should be?" Irik asked while he sat in the command chair of the Night Iris.

"Yes, it's operating just fine." Terina answered the question and continued to pilot the ship.

"Alright, we're about to pass over the facility right now. While the device is keeping us hidden, Konner will drop down and infiltrate the information we need. This will tell us whether the U.F. know where Eureka is. If they do, we'll get her." Briefly he paused and looked around at his crew. None of them really seemed to be paying attention, it was just another day of work. With a sigh he leaned back and nodded, more to himself than anyone else.

"Give Konner the go." He tossed the command at them.

Konner stood inside a very cramped and condensed room. The walls where pressing against his side, he could barely take a step in any direction. It made him feel trapped, but mostly annoyed at the sheer dumb design. Because that's what it was, dumb.

He was wearing a completely black suit, along with a back pack that was thickly equipped.

Impatiently he tapped his foot against the floor, waiting for the signal to come, even though he didn't want it to. It was that feeling the he hated and wanted to just get over with. He didn't like things that made him anxious.

Above his head a yellow light started to blink. Rolling his eyes, he gritted his teeth and raised a single hand.

"Dang it all." He slammed his fist against a button on the wall. Right when he did so, the hatch bellow him gave way. Gravity took its sweet bitter hold, pulling him down towards the solid hard ground. Immediately the anxious feeling dissipated, it was replaced by a tingling excitement. A smile tightly wrapped around his face as he bore his teeth. Wind rushed into his mouth while the rest just spiraled and curled around him. It was almost as if the wind was trying to catch him, save him from the periling fall, but it can't help the fools of the world, and he knew this all to well. Luckily for him, he was a pretty prepared fool, and an organized one.

Reaching behind his back he pulled out a solid black board. The moon reflected against its glossy surface, complementing the night sky's glow.

"Alright guys, I'm just above the base!" He yelled into the mike, excitement finding no other way out except through his throat. Just bellow him was the oncoming base. It was large and blocky with a silver metallic color. Surrounding it was a long barbwire fence. The base was in the middle of a large field, surrounded by small mountains and desert sites.

Artisen picked up his feet, gently placing his board beneath them. As the base was coming closer, he knew he needed to make his timing comparative to perfection. Finally the base took on his whole vision. He quickly scanned the surroundings of guards and other dangerous devices. When he knew it was time, he activated the board and let the green trapar spray out from behind him. He went into a circling motions, slowly loosing all the speed he had gained. As softly as possible, he glided against the invisible winds and came close to one of the small buildings. On the side of one he spotted a balcony. The door was opened, almost begging him to come inside.

"I think I will thank you." He smirked and curved against the waves. Cautiously he came to a complete stop then hopped off his board. Not a single sound was made as his feet tapped against the ground. The crouching motion absorbed any pressure that would have produced commotion.

"Ok, I'm in the base. For now I'll cut communication and reestablish when I see fit to the situation. You guys hold tight now, and don't die while I'm at work. Some one has to bring the beacon home." His smirk became wider when he cut the communication off before a remark could have been made.

He slipped off his back pack and began to rummage through its components. His hand pulled out a white uniform with the symbol of U.F. crew on the shoulder. Artisen admired the mischievous design. Quickly he changed out of the clothes and tied a few things to his side. Satisfied with what he had, he stood up and opened the door. It was completely dark… and unlocked, though when he thought about it, the place was extremely secluded. Chances of a simple thief trying to break it seemed unlikely; but he knew better.

The room he entered was pitch black. On what he thought might be a wall, he saw a line of light cracking beneath a door. He made his way through and opened the door. It led him out into a bright white hallway. He closed the door and started down the hall like any other man would.

"It feels good to be back at work again." He said under a pleasant sigh.

A few people passed by him, not even sharing a look of suspicion. These people thought he was one of them, which is how he wanted it to be. So he walked down the hall until he reached a certain door. The words "Lab 34" were inscribed on a panel. With all of his experience, he knew the room would contain an information computer. Reaching down he opened the door and walked inside. To his comfort, the room was completely empty. It was large with four tables to match its size; but to the side of him is what he wanted, and that was a computer station.

He ran over and sat at the desk. Within a few seconds the computer was on and he was in. Information was like putty in his hand.

---

The day was slow at times, and quick at other times. All Eureka and Eoin could do was walk. Sometimes a conversation would start, but it was quickly left as an echo in the distance.

Eureka gazed at the sky and the stars that hung above them. She knew even then that they would have to camp out very soon. Walking through the night would conflict with judgment and vision, leaving their brains deprived of proper operation. But even through all this fatigue, Eureka found herself looking over at Eoin. She started to notice other things about him. His body was strongly built, but not overly muscular. His eyes were a hollow blue, much like Renton's. The hair on his head was medium in length, slightly messy, but an organized mess. His hair, face, and eyes are what reminded her of him the most. Yet again, she found herself loosing more and more doubt. If she wasn't careful, all doubt would be lost, and then she might be finding herself lost. She knew she couldn't depend solely on hope, but it was hard.

"We should probably camp out sooner or later." Eoin said with his eyes closed.

"You're right, let's only walk a little bit further." Again silence found its way between them. It held for a while, until Eoin curiously tilted his head towards the sky.

"So why does the U.F. want you dead?" The question just randomly plopped from his mouth. Eureka turned to him in both confused and surprised. That was about the strangest question she thought she would ever hear from him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you said we needed to get to know each other. We're both stranded, and an assassin gets a little curious when he doesn't know who he's supposed to kill. All I know is that you're Eureka…" He glanced at her for a second and then turned back towards the sky. She believed he had a point, that they did need to get to know each other, but asking that kind of question wasn't exactly a great start.

"Why do you think?" She decided to throw back her own question. This would leave him to speak more about himself. Possibly even reveal something she wanted to know. Intently she listened for the kind of man this person was. He would now reveal how quickly he assumes people, or how he sees them.

"I guess they would want you dead because you're a problem. I know that you're not apart of the P.O.F., so I want to know. They did tell me that you were a mass murderer. Killing with out a second thought."

"If you had killed me, would you have given it a second thought?" Automatically she countered his thinking. He frowned and looked around hesitantly.

"I don't like lie… No, I wouldn't have."

"I don't like to kill people, but the job has to be done. The only time I kill is when it's absolutely required. My least favorite color is the color of blood." Her eyes fell on the two red stripes on her shoulder. It was ironic that she would say that. Those two red lines represented the blood of some one very close to her. The only person she truly loved.

"What about me and those men in the S.U.s?" He shot back in an icy tone.

"S.U.s are the worst example of life there is to exist." Oddly her voice became more distance as she spoke. Her eyes unfocused, staring off into a distance place. This wasn't the place from before that Eoin had seen. Where ever she was seeing now wasn't a place of dreams or hopes. He could see the dim sadness that was succumbing to her, "Those machines take the hope out of human beings, and then utterly destroy it. I don't consider myself killing the people inside those S.U.s." Her eyes half closed, "Because the people that are flying those machines are no longer people… I would know." Eoin's head flinched back at her last comment. There was a long paused, where only Eureka continued to look off into that distance horrible place. He wondered what she was seeing now. Suddenly her head tilted up and looked at Eoin. In reaction he turned away to avoid her eyes.

"I didn't want to kill you." Eureka saw him almost stumble when she said that, "And I wasn't planning to. I only wanted to disable you." He smirked and shook his head.

"Like how you were trying to stab that sword through my cockpit?" Eureka looked away and towards the stars. Now she found herself avoiding his attention.

"I did that because you were equal to my skill. I had no choice but to kill you. If you lived, then you would be a constant threat. I wouldn't be able to guarantee the safety of my crew… my family." The words passing through Eureka's mouth didn't feel like her own. Even while she was speaking, she was discovering things she had forgotten. After all this time, she had forgotten something very important, and that was family. Some where in the back of her mind she knew it was there, that sense of care for her crew. Finally she was remembering the reason she cared so much for her crew. They weren't just her crew, they were her family.

"This is strange…" He muttered and scratched the side of his head. Eureka wasn't really sure what he meant by that.

"What?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. She was feeling this connection starting to form between them. It left a feeling inside her that warmly burned in her stomach. Resisting this feeling was out of the question. It reminded her of what she once was, it was making her what she once was. Eoin was starting to reveal more about himself. The ice was thinning, and she was going to break it apart. There was something more than him just looking like Renton. There had to be…

"I've never really pictured the kind of people I fight against. I've met a few people who were pretty bad. Had little respect for anyone but themselves. Then there's you… I'm not even sure how to describe you. I have a hard time trying to figure out what you're even thinking." The ice had just shattered. Now they were pressing deeper into each other. Eureka felt a small smile forming at her lips. Eoin looked her in the eyes, "Who are you really?"

"I'm Eureka, captain of the Night Iris, chief of Gekko-State. I fight for the P.O.F. to help them win the war. Not only that, but I have no problem admitting that we are the strongest ship they have." She said with that new smile on her face. Eoin looked away and blinked a few times, "What about you?" There was no possible way she was going to let it end.

"I'm not sure I can tell you." He shrugged while looking away.

"I promise you… you can. I'm starting to know you, so I have no intention of killing you."

"I'm Eoin Machale, not exactly an assassin. I was sent out to kill you because of my skills in a LFO. They thought I picked up on things really quickly. And…" His eyes turned to the ground, "Sometimes I wish I knew a little more too." Eureka wasn't sure what he was getting at. It was odd and out of place. His eyes were shadowed under distant thought. A question was starting to form at her lips. She was going to ask him, but she wasn't sure if it was too fast or not. Even so, she couldn't stop the energy that was burning inside her. It forced the words to form at her mouth. No matter how much her mind felt that it was just too soon.

"I have a question for you Eoin." It came as if from some where else, and not her.

"What?"

"Where were you ten years ago?" Right out of no where a dark look crunched Eoin's face together. It formed a fierce glare of utmost hate.

"How could you know about that?" He stopped in the middle of the road, Eureka did as well.

"About what?" She was just as confused as he was… then again, she wasn't. It occurred to her that she should have expected this kind of thing. Now she was about to pay for her anxiousness and her wishful thinking. A dark dread was building inside her, pulling her back to who she had been for the past ten years.

"For a split second, I thought I knew. How can you know that?" He almost yelled at her. Her face turned blank. Wheels turned in her head at extremely high speeds. This was the time to recover from falling.

"You know the one I talked about, Renton?" Slowly Eoin nodded, "Ten years ago he died… Just disappeared."

"What?" Eoin took a step back.

"Exactly ten years since a few days ago. I loved him… love him… more than I have the right to love. That…" Her teeth clenched together tightly and she turned her head to the ground. Hate was becoming strong inside her. But it wasn't towards him, it was towards herself, "It's my fault he died… Ten years ago he saved me like he had the many times before… but this time it took his life." Tears fell down her face. She wanted to suppress them, to take them off like object and then smash them into nothing. Each little tear burned to just release from her eyes. Eoin examined each tear in horror. He didn't think she was going to cry.

"How did he die?" He wanted to kick himself for asking the question. Eureka tilted her head up solemnly. The sparkle of life that was once there was gone. It scared him, he almost fell back, but he held himself still.

"It's time to set up camp." She turned around, with out another word, into the forest.

---

"It was almost ten years ago, right?" Tinera whispered over to Svent. Irik sat in the chair like some one had lazily thrown him into it. His position was lopsided and his legs hung over the side. He knew Svent and Tinera were trying to conceal their conversation, but he had surprisingly good hearing. What ever they said, he would hear.

"Yeah I think so. Ten years since Renton's death." Svent leaned slightly closer to her.

"It was three years after that the Gekko-State had reinstated, right?"

"Yeah, I heard…" Svent stopped to look over at Irik. Irik was looking over at the wall blankly, but he was listening, "I heard that she was in a pretty bad state."

"Who told you this?" Terina asked him.

"I picked it up from Irik and Artisen mostly. It was hard to gather the details up from them. But you know me." A smirk cleverly took his face. Terina sighed and nodded, satisfying his pride.

"Ok, go ahead." The dull look on her face forced Svent to do so.

"Well, you heard that was when Renton Thurston died? Or disappeared, they never actually found the body. Which wasn't a surprise, since it had fallen through the crack. It was pretty sad though, Eureka had loved him."

"Wait, Eureka actually loved Renton? I know we should know this, but I was too busy to read RayOut way back then. It wasn't till later on that I heard they were all in that thing." Terina was getting more into the conversation, forgetting the man sitting at the command chair.

"I know. I was in military school at the time. Getting a hold of that thing was pretty close to impossible." He nodded in agreement, "But here's the interesting thing. Three years after she started Gekko-State again. She had to get permission from Holland himself. Then they were able to start everything up again. Just a little before all that, Maurice had left. That's when he joined the U.F.."

"I figured it was some odd story like that. Did any one of them tell you why he did?"

"No, just little details. Like I said, I pieced it all together. I can't believe how little we talk about the forming of Night Iris." Svent sighed in annoyance.

"I noticed. It's all about the here and the now. Sometimes the past can be both knowledgeable, and a nightmare. Maybe we shouldn't pry too hard." She raised both brows warningly. Svent nodded in agreement, but there was no promise.

"Nice work guys. How about we finish this little documentary conversation about the Night Iris, and get back to work." Irik broke in at last. Svent and Terina flinched when they realized they were discovered, "The comm. Svent, it's on." Svent twisted around in his chair, immediately returning to professional duty. His hand moved across the controls carelessly. Right after, the speakers came to life.

"Hey Night Iris." Artisen's voice hummed across the room.

"How is it Artisen, did you get the information?" Irik's face was calm, but his eyes were anxiously looking around the room.

"I did find something on her… Apparently Eureka went missing two days ago, as well as… Eoin Machale. It says that he was the man assigned to kill Eureka. From what I can tell, that never happened. So it looked like no one knows where Eureka is." He replied nonchalantly, "Sorry Irik." His voice was suddenly serious and caring. Artisen had a way of going from one emotion to another. Calm, to sarcastic, to serious. The man just had a different way of expressing himself.

"Dang it… what in the world is going on?" Irik rested his face in his hands. The confusion was becoming stress.

"I don't know Irik, but I don't think we should-." A large wailing sound boomed through the speakers, muffling Artisen's voice.

"Artisen, what's going on?" Irik lifted his head urgently.

"I was afraid of this." A sigh of agitation drifted through the comm., "They found my frequency, I got to get out of here. Sorry guys, I'm cutting communication." With that, the link was gone. Irik felt like slamming his fist against the chair, but he was too tired.

"We might need to drop down and help him. Get ready to-."

"Hold on, I think we got something else to deal with!" Svent cut him off, "Looks like four ship are coming in from the horizon… U.F. tags on each." he frowned, utterly confused, "How could they know?" Like before, his voice began to stutter.

"Four entire ships." Irik gritted his teeth. The situation called, so he straitened himself in his seat, "Dive down to the base. We got to pull Artisen out and run."

---

"I'm really hoping this keeps up." Artisen whispered under his breath. He was quickly walking down the white halls. A few guards would pass by occasionally. Stopping shortly he turned to a door and tried to open it. Unfortunately for him, it was locked. But fortunately, he was prepared. As cautious as possible, he pulled out a small device and started to fiddle with the knob. It wasn't long until the door was unlocked and opened. He started through, freedom at his feet…

"Excuse me?" A female voice called from behind him. Artisen felt every muscle in his body freeze. He had been discovered, "is that room yours?" Quickly putting on one of his smiles, he turned around.

"Sorry, I'm new here. I've been looking for my room all day. I just thought it was this one… the key worked, maybe they gave me the wrong one." He turned around to a woman that was surprisingly distracting. She wore a white suit with a small silver symbol on the back. With no lab coat to be seen, he wasn't sure if she was a scientist or not.

"What's your name?" She sighed and looked him up and down. Her hair was a clean black, long and curled at the ends. Almost like her hair was a black falling flame.

"I'm Jack, yours?" The girl blinked, unimpressed.

"Nina." She looked at him with beautiful pure blue eyes. Artisen couldn't believe that he was getting distracted so.

"Oh, can you help me find my room?" His smile was the only weapon he had… it wasn't worth much.

"I'm not even going to play this game." Nina reached down and pulled out a pistol. She lifted it up and pointed it directly at Artisen's heart. He couldn't help finding that a rude gesture. His eyes were on the gun when it suddenly hit him.

"I've been caught?" What he had just said seemed impossible to him.

"Yes, I was in my room earlier when I noticed the board and back pack at the window. I can't believe you would leave something like that." She shook her head in disbelief.

"This is the first time I've been caught." He stared with wide eyes. Everything she had said went into one ear and out the other. Nina nudged the gun at his chest. This grabbed his attention like he was just stabbed with a hot knife.

"I've looked you up in the previous U.F. records. You used to be a spy for us too, right?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Too?"

"Yes, I'm a spy as well. Don't get excited, I'm not on your side. I'm here to investigate the possibility of other spies. Looks like I was right on."

"You just threw away some pretty vital information there." Artisen added.

"You're not leaving this place any time soon, Artisen." She wedged the gun a little deeper, tauntingly.

"Well, it's the first time I've been caught. So that would also make this my first escape?" Nina frowned at him oddly.

"Are you saying tha-." Artisen kicked the gun out of her hand. Completely caught of guard, she could only watched the gun slam against the floor. Taking advantage, he rushed forward and pushed her towards the ground. Within seconds he had a gun in his hand pointed at her head.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." A charming smile took his lips. The young woman struggled, but she was pinned.

"You going to shoot then?" Her breath was quick and nervous.

"How old are you, is Nina your real name?" He answered, completely ignoring her last question. The woman frowned, having a hard time believing what she was hearing.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Curiosity." Her frowned creased into deeper confusion. Artisen though was having the time of his life. This girl intrigued him.

"thirty… and yes, my name is Nina." Artisen's smile grew wider.

"Perfect, my name is Artisen, as you might already know. And I'm thirty two."

"What he heck do you mean by that?"

"What do you think?" he asked. A yell echoed from down the hall. He pocketed his gun and stood up. Nina was too shocked to do anything.

"Your gun?" She pointed, bewildered.

"Yeah, I just don't want to damage that head of yours. It's not worth it. Just consider this. I save you pain, you save my life." With one last smile, he turned around and dashed into her room. There he slipped on his backpack and grabbed his board, "I hope we see each other again." Artisen called back from her balcony.

"What?"

"I'm sure we'll meet again. Just look around for some one that looks like me. Maybe we can go out to eat sometime? I'll hold you to that!" With out giving her the chance to answer, he turned around and leaped off the balcony.

"Wait!" She screamed, not in worry of his death, but in anger at his getting away. When she reached the balcony, he was already sailing off. Behind him tagged a flowing green tail, "Dang what a strange man." She leaned against the railing. A small smile was taking her lips, small and curious, "Now I'm curious… I'll have to get back at him for that." She closed her eyes, "Only curious… He asked for a death wish."

---

"This is not easy with out return fire!" Terina yelled in frustration as she roughly pulled the controls. Irik was now sitting at Artisen's station. Outside the Night Iris were several blazing beams.

"They haven't launched any S.U.s?" Irik was carefully studying the control panel. The chaos didn't bother him a bit. There were worse things to worry about.

"No, they're all attack frigates. These things are only designed to take down other frigates and cruisers." Svent stuttered with his hands dancing over the controls.

"I guess that's both good and bad. They usually don't send many of those… they must know we don't have Eureka anymore. Svent, send a message through out the ship for Maeter and Linck. We're going to need them to launch." Irik commanded.

"Got it." Svent clicked a button and leaned forward, "Maeter, Linck, you guys have permission to launch the Orange Thunder and Green Storm." He clicked off the comm..

"Alright, that just leaves us time to deal with." Irik nodded to himself.

"You forgot about the four other ships that are firing at us." Terina let slip from her lips.

"We're optimists here, not pessimists. Though, the situation is getting pretty rough." He casually looked up at the several red beams flashing by.

"What happened to make you the kind of person you are?" She pressed the question at him. To her surprise, Irik lifted his head and stared at her. It was a chilling gaze, frozen over with importance.

"A lot of things." They held eye contact for a while longer. Unable to handle it anymore, Terina turned back to her console.

"Sorry." She whispered back. Irik placed his fingers on the keys, but they made no move to control. He hadn't suspected that kind of reaction from Terina. Then again, she probably didn't suspect that kind of reaction from him.

"I was once too." He mumbled under his breath. An uncomfortable silence took the bridge. He blamed himself and wanted to break the quietness, but even he was confused.

---

"Captain, we're picking up some activity in the U.F. border near here." A man spoke out. He was on a large white bridge. In the far back was a plain large chair. Sitting in it was a man with raven black hair. The whole bridge was of U.F. design, but it wasn't U.F.. This ship bore the symbol of the P.O.F. on its floor.

"Really, right off the border?" The other man perked up slightly.

"Yes, according to this. It's due to the… Night Iris?" The man talking smiled as he said the name.

"The Night Iris? That makes this slightly more interesting. I don't even have to ask for the pilot to set a course." The man was smiling himself.

"Of course not commander." A woman with brown hair replied sarcastically. In response, she pressed a few buttons. Outside the large wide view port, the horizon started shifting. They were moving.

"What's going on, why are we changing course?" Another woman said from the door. She had cute pink hair.

"Looks like the Night Iris is having some problems." He replied and smiled down at her. The woman stepped up next to him.

"Oh, already acting with out command?" She playfully called to him.

"If the time calls for it." He smiled back.

"A link is open sir." Another man from the side announced.

"Quick thinking as always." The black haired man nodded in appreciation. He then pressed his finger on a button at his side.

"Hello Night Iris, this is the Black Blade. And this is Captain Dominic Sorell, willing to help in any way I can." He smirked and leaned back in his seat.

"And help from Anemone Sorell!" The pink haired girl rudely added in. Dominic didn't care; he actually liked it when she did that.


	4. Chapter 4: Off The Edge

**Chapter 4: Off The Edge**

Irik blinked a few times, deciding whether or not he heard what he just heard.

"Dominic?" Irik asked through the comm..

"Irik? Where is Eureka?" The confused man asked back. Irik didn't answer immediately.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. We have a problem with these four cruisers. At the moment we don't have our gunner. So all we can do is dodge."

"Artisen is missing too? If that's the case, then we do have a problem. I'm coming up on the four right now." With a soft click the comm. shut off.

"I'm picking him up on the radar." Svent wiped the sweat gathering on his forehead.

"Zoom a camera on him. Let's make sure he's the person he says he is." Irik stared at the view port. It turned completely black, then blinked into a large image. On the large screen was the speeding Black Blade. The name was well deserved. It was the first type of its kind. There were similarities in shape between the Night Iris and Black Blade. What made it special was the front of the ship. Instead of the usual curved front, it was a sharp pointed edge. This is what made the Black Blade famous. The ship was shaped like a wide opened wrench. Only four sides on the inside, each one having the incredibly sharp edge. The edges looked sharp enough to slice a mountain in half.

"Yup, that's it." Irik leaned back in his seat, letting a relaxed sigh drift from his lips.

"I think they're going to do the swipe!" Terina excitedly said.

"Decrease zoom." Svent nodded to Irik's command. The view screen zoomed out slightly, concentrating on the four ships again. Suddenly a black object flew past, a bright flaming beam following right behind it. After it passed through, the four ships exploded.

"Ok, we're clear, let's get out of here!" Irik's yelling voice jolted everyone into action. Time was of the essence. They sat upright in their seats and readied.

"Wait, what about Artisen?" Svent turned around to Irik.

"Watch." His reply came all too knowingly.

"I'm on board." Artisen's voice came out of the sudden calm.

"How did?" Even Terina gawked with Svent. Both of them confused at how Irik would know.

"Artisen was supposed to arrive at this time. That man has never missed a due date… He used to even astound me." Irik waved his hand at the view port, "We really got to go now." There was a short pause between all of them. Svent took the initiative and turned back to his station. Terina followed his motion.

Moments later they were blasting through the skies. Beneath them the ground was just a mix of blurred colors.

"Well Irik, you have a lot to tell me. I'm fully ready to listen to every word." Steadily and curiously Dominic said through the comm.. Irik couldn't stop the sigh that purged from his lungs. He had a feeling the channel was going to be open for a long while.

---

Silence is what was following Eureka. It was close enough to be her shadow. Slowly the ringing was coming back, so subtle and still. That is what bothered her most. It wasn't loud or painful, just still and smooth. Sometimes she just wanted to reach up and rip her ears off. But instead, she just looked off to the side.

Both she and Eoin were walking along the road. Conversation was futile through morning and afternoon. Eoin had attempted to speak to her, but he only got simple one worded answers. Last night was continuously playing through his head. Those tears that fell from her cheeks, the pain in her eyes. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Eureka, I'm so-." Quickly he stopped to consider what he was about to say. Eureka didn't even budge her head. Yet, she turned her eyes, "Am I really going to say this?" He almost laughed with wide eyes, "Eureka, I'm sorry about last night." Her head flipped up in utter shock. The man she had pictured before changed. She thought she had just seen water turn to fire. Just last night, she was sure it wasn't Renton. There was no sympathy inside him, or consideration. Now he actually apologized to her? Hope submitted the ringing to defeat. And silence was left back in the distance.

"It's alright." She whispered back. For the first time she was actually taking in their surroundings. She was so deep in her thoughts before, that she might as well been blind. They were walking on the same path again. Trees were on either side, and the sky was blue and cloudy. Like a beacon of glory was the shinning sun.

"I shouldn't have pried like I did." He looked around unsurely. Eureka was careful not to press at him again. This time she was going to take it slow, but temptation was building yet again.

"It's fine." Her voice was more firm. Continuing to walk, she saw the connection building again. If it were possible, she wanted to believe that last night was just a bump in the road. She opened her mouth, about to engage in more words, but instead froze in place. Eoin continued walking until he noticed her absence. He lifted his head and looked around. It wasn't until he turned around to see her staring down at the ground. Her brows were tightly together, concerned with something very important.

"What is it?" He walked over towards her.

"There's blood on the ground." She firmly pointed her hand at the rocky surface. There was a large spots of blood. Her head followed the blood into the forest, "We should follow."

"Wait, we don't know if-." She ignored him and started into the forest. Tightly his chest expanded to let out a forced sigh. Too even his own surprise, he stopped, "Maybe I'm the one in the wrong." He whispered. Eureka didn't hear it. Before he could loose her, he followed.

They passed through several thick leaves and plants. Eoin violently smacked them out of the way. Eureka was carefully looking over the ground. The blood was faint, becoming harder to follow. Finally they stumbled upon a brutal scene.

"Poor man." Eureka whispered under the pressure of sympathy. Gently she crouched down before the body. It was an older man, his hair roots turning a faded gray. He wore a buttoned shirt, and then sandy colored jacket and pants. Blood was meshed in all of his cloths. On his forehead bulged a large bruise, most likely fetal.

"I wonder what happened." Eoin knelt down next to her.

"I think he's still alive. Help me move him to a clearer area." Eoin was hesitant, but he followed.

Caringly they lifted the man up and walked through the thick forest. After a while they found a spot and set him down. The area was open, even the sun above could shine through.

"Here's water." Eoin said while handing a bottle to her.

"Thank you." She carefully tipped the bottle against the man lips. Luckily he reacted and adjusted his head.

"Where am I?" The man's dryly rough voice asked. He tried to open his eyes, but it was obvious he was too weak.

"You're alright, we found you lying here in the forest." Eureka answered.

"Who are you two?" The man coughed several times.

"I'm Eureka, that is Re- Eoin." She almost let the wrong name fall through.

"What's yours." Eoin asked. Eureka ripped open his shirt. Beneath the thin cloth was a brutal gaping wound.

"It doesn't look like it hit any vital organs. That explains why he's still alive. Help me take off his jacket and shirt." Eureka started and Eoin helped.

"My name is jack." The man answered at last. His eyes were lulling around in his head.

"He might go into shock. If that happens, we won't be able to save him. Jack, how did this happen?" She had to keep his brain thinking. Otherwise this was a failed attempt.

"Here." Eoin handed her bandaging from their own emergency kit. Eureka noticed he did it with out hesitation. She just might save three lives this day, including her own.

"I was… that is around." His speech was slurred and moist, "It was a small group of two." He coughed again, Eureka thanked that it held no blood. She started to wrap the bandage around his body. Eoin placed pressure, lifting his hands once every wrap. A few times their hand collided. A warm and chilly feeling wrung her body each time.

"I had something they wanted." He started off again, "Lift up the… I mean a nag… Kni-knife… They stabbed me with a knife when I refused to give."

"The bruise?" Eoin pointed out.

"A single knife stab wouldn't take me down. But it hurt like insanity." He started laughing, but it turned into more coughing.

"What were you doing on the road?" Eureka shared a calm smile.

"Medicine." He gurgled. Eureka noticed a pain look on his face. She didn't think it was the wound, "They need the medicine." Tears were collecting in the bowls of his eyes.

"The medicine will get there." Reassuringly he told him.

"There's a lot of blood." Eoin couldn't help but point out.

"I know, just keep applying pressure." She gripped his hand. He flinched in reaction, but let her pull it to the wound and press. There was an odd silence between them. Eureka didn't ignore it, she knew why her lips were frozen. But she couldn't understand why he was silent as well. Could it be, she wondered, that he felt it too?

"The medicine… is gone…" The older man's words were becoming more stuttered. His eyes were following things that neither Eureka nor Eoin could see.

"Don't worry." Eureka tried to convince him.

"No… you don't understand. I had bought the last supply… Going back now is futile. I won't be the last to die." His words sent a cold shiver down Eureka's back.

"Don't continue to say things like that. You still have hope, use it!" She encouraged him. His breath started to become more erratic. Violently his chest moved up and down.

"No, he's going into shock." Eoin lightened his hand, Eureka didn't.

"Press harder." She urged him.

"Eureka, it's done." He told her and tried to pull away, but she continued to press down.

"The medicine… I was a fool to go on my own." Drowsily the man's face waved back and forth. It was painfully obvious that his death was coming. Eureka couldn't accept that, not yet.

"What medicine, where?" She begged of him.

"It was there in my back pack. The men took it around the corner… maybe if you start to run." His lips were extremely dry.

"Where did they go?"

"Towards the sky?" He answered back. She didn't understand. The man started to laugh and laugh. It continued like that for the next ten minutes. He just lied there and laughed. Strangely, Eureka wanted to know at what. She wondered what was going through his mind.

"The sky… It's a funny place. You can see so far up, but the truth is, you're actually looking down. So you make the leap!" His speech was surprisingly strong. Eureka knew it was just the last of his energy burning up, "You fly into the sky! You think you're flying, but the truth is, you're actually falling. That's funny isn't it? To fly and fall. You'll keep flying and flying, having no idea that you're falling and falling. That's how life tricks you into thinking what is and isn't important. I made that mistake… I just saw it all again, just like that. How strange it was… To think you're so close to the top, but you're right at the bottom." He continued to laugh… and laugh. Then just like turning off the light, he was gone. His laughing stopped so abruptly, that Eureka jumped in surprise. She fell back against a tree. The man's head fell to the side. Half of the things he had said made no sense at all. Or maybe they did. She heard once from another man that person on the edges of death can pear down past the cliff and see what's next. He's not there yet, so he reflects on everything he had, before he looses it.

"He's dead." Eureka lifted her head at the person who had just said that. It was Eoin. He was looking down at the body like it was something surprisingly brand new to his. Even though her thoughts caressed solemnly, she couldn't help but think… Obviously.

Her mind turned back to the man on the ground. It was true, he was gone. This man had fallen off the edge.

---

"That's a lot that has happened." Dominic admitted from the Night Iris speakers.

"Yes, and the U.F. have lost them as well." Irik was resting his face in his hands. He was thinking hard on what to do next, but nothing was all he could summon.

"What else is there to do, Irik?" The question from Dominic flew around in Irik's mind. There was little he could do. And then again, there was so much he wanted to do. More than anything else, he was really tired.

"We'll search." He raised his head up at the comm..

"Yes, we could do that." Irik wasn't sure how Dominic meant that.

"Look Dominic, it's getting late. Some of the crew has had a long day. I think it would be best to call it quits for now."

"Alright, you have a good point. We'll resume conversation tomorrow." There was a crackle before the radio turned off.

"Svent, run a few more security scans. After that, you can go to sleep. You too Terina." He turned around and left the bridge.

Irik walked down the halls with heavy steps. His whole body felt weighed down by some burden.

"Irik, I saw what happened. The Black Blade came in right when we needed them." Artisen said more excitedly than usual while charging down the hall. He stopped when he reached Irik.

"Yes, how was the mission." Irik quickly waved away the subject.

"Interesting, actually. There are some records I need to pull up. I thought I knew all of the others under my organization. But I've never seen her before." He promptly said and dashed off. Irik blinked, just watching him run.

"That is odd… Never seen him act like that before." He scratched his head and shrugged.

Irik prepared for bed, now that he had reached his room. But before taking his sleep, he made an addition to Kess's book.

His pencil rested against the paper. Once again it was time to continue with the known.

"Kess, we've gotten a little closer to nowhere today. With out Eureka, we got ourselves stuck in a pretty tight spot. It's at those moments with out her that remind me as to why she is the captain. Which does make a lot of sense. It was her idea to start Gekko-State back up in the first place.

But that really isn't what I wanted to tell you in this entry. I want to tell you about Dominic Sorell. He was also a good friend of Eureka. He is also married to Anemone, a good friend as well. They both were really a great help during Eureka's three years of recovery. There was something they had in common with each other, which I didn't have. That alone led to other problems… Besides that, Dominic was one of the people who encouraged the start of the P.O.F.. Through these ten years, he served alongside Jeurgens. Eventually Jeurgens thought it was time for Dominic to move on. What I mean by that is for Dominic to become a captain. Dominic, being like he is, refused to do so. The idea to him was out of the question. Jeurgens continued to tell him, and finally forced him. It's actually a little strange. None of us really could understand why Jeurgens had forced Dominic to switch ships. I think Jeurgens really just wanted Dominic to move on." Irik paused, and then continued, "I'm sure that's the case."

To get back on track, Dominic took Anemone with her. At the time a new test ship was being made. Black Blade was the code name it received. Jeurgens allowed Dominic to take the ship for himself. This was about five years after the death of Renton. Now he's an amazing captain… Not so surprisingly, he has a habit of… forgetting orders. Which is ironic when I truly considered it. I've heard that orders and routines were his way. Guess I heard wrong… or maybe he just changed. Changing was a disease we were all infected with after Renton's death. I changed, Eureka changed, Dominic changed… Artisen didn't change." A smile took at his lips as he wrote that. It looked like a good time to stop, so he closed the book. Behind him the bed was waiting. Not to keep it lonely, he moved over and slipped into its comfort. His eyes drifted closed. Thousands of words, thoughts, pictures, sounds, and feelings had passed through his mind that day. To wonder, for him, was a strange feeling. For the past few nights that's all he could do. No matter how hard he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Sometimes his body would let go and knock out, but lately it just wasn't happening.

"What's wrong with me?" He gripped his head while turning over, "Why can't I sleep?"

---

"Good evening from the the Night Iris." Artisin said while he was carefully studying a computer screen, "you called?"

"Hey Artisen. You're on duty?" Cheerfully Anemone's voice came. The comment led Artisen to look up and around. He realized that he was alone on the bridge. With a clever smirk, he readjusted himself in the command chair. The command chair took to his liking. Probably never a position he would actually take. But a little taste now and then was fine.

"Yeah, only for this night. I really can't sleep anyway."

"What are you up to? Do you just sit around or something?"

"No." He chuckled, not really believing what he was doing himself, "Checking up on some documents I'm curious about."

"Such as?"

"Question are as plentiful as a water fall from your mouth tonight"

"That depends, haven't seen you this slow to talk before."

"Ok then, let's just say I made a discovery."

"What kind?" Artisen actually sighed, "Well sorry, didn't mean to annoy you." Anemone sounded both hurt and offended.

"Oh, sorry, it's not you. It's these documents in here… The U.F. just isn't as easy to hack as they use to be. I can't even find her in the old database. I'm checking under a few listings… but."

"Her?" Now Anemone felt enthralled into the conversion. Artisen knew that there was no chance of escape.

"Yes, her."

"This is interesting Artisen. I thought you were going to become an old lonely man." His head shot up.

"Really?" He didn't hide the confusion in his voice.

"Yeah, really." She said it like it was common knowledge. He wasn't sure whether he should feel offended, or just confused.

"Well that's interesting… You're not the only one?"

"Nope, me and Dominic have talked about it. It gave us a pretty good conversation.

"Oh…" Suddenly his voice lowered to a disappointed depressed.

"So what's the girl's name?" Instantly he was ripped out of sadness.

"Nina, don't know her last name yet. If I just knew… then I could probably find her on the record."

"Where did you meet her… and why do you need the U.F. records, isn't the P.O.F. just fine?" A little suspicion flowed through her voice.

"Today, at the U.F. facility."

"Artisen!" Her voice screeched through the comm., like it was powerful enough to scratch the edges of the invisible signals themselves.

"Hey, you don't think I'll be careful?" He replied both amused and defensive.

"For you… probably, but still Artisen. I'm also a little surprised you would fall at such a time and person!" Her voice was quieter, but still powerful.

"What can I say Anemone, I'm a miracle worker." He snapped his fingers and laughed.

"Artisen, you need to take this a little more seriously. This is the U.F. they're dealing with. If they find out you have a weak point… they will use it against you."

"Look, it's not like I actually stayed down there, ok? I'm careful… and sly." He held in another laugh.

"Dominic is going to like this one. Please just be careful… was she a scientist at the facility?" Anemone was still a little curious.

"No, a spy." There was a very long pause. After a moment, Artisen raised his head. Not a single spec of sound could be heard, "Oh shoot." He scrambled around to find the radio shut off button.

"ARTISEN!" Anemone's voice probably split a planet in half over two billion light years away. The creatures cried out in unison as they fell apart like a nicely sliced orange. Whole civilizations destroyed thanks to one person… Artisen could only hold his ears in agony.

"What?" He almost cried.

"You're such an idiot… I always thought you were just cleverly cocky about everything. Now you fell for a girl you'll never see again… then again, she is a spy. Don't you understand how much danger you're not only putting yourself in, but the Night Iris?" She urged with all intent to convince him.

"Anemone, you've known me for ten years!" Artisen leaned back in his seat, "It's not like I'm going to hunt her out… maybe, but even if I did. I know what to look for in danger. Come on Anemone, I'm a spy too if you haven't been paying attention." A prolonged sigh was heard.

"What does she look like?" The sigh of relaxation was exhaled from his lungs. He whipped the beads of sweat collecting on his head.

"Pure black hair, amazing hair."

"Dang Aritsen, you could be a writer someday."

"Well how else do you want me to describe her?"

"Meh."

"Meh… right… So how's your kid doing? How old is she now?" The change of subject was sudden, but he thought dearly needed.

"Oh, you mean Enra? Yes, she just turned nine. I can't believe how much she's taking after Dominic. She does have my hair though. Lately she's been anxious to see Kess… How is Kess doing?" Anemone's voice turned grim. Artisen sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm worried… I've always considered myself like an uncle to her. Lately I haven't seen her. Usually she clings to Eureka, following her around everywhere. Eureka doesn't seem to mind, actually, I think she likes it. Kess needs Eureka and Eureka needs Kess… but now that Eureka is gone." He shook his head and gazed out the star covered view screen, "Could Enra come over some time?"

"That wouldn't be a problem. Tomorrow I'll come over with Dominic. I can't remember the last time we came aboard the Night Iris."

"It was a long time ago." He said, dazed at the stars. They littered the sky in thousands of glimmering lights. It was very calming to his eyes, especially with the bridge lights dimmed.

"It was nice to talk to you again Artisen." Anemone's kind voice rested in his ears.

"Thanks Anemone, see you tomorrow."

---

Eureka sat on a rock, looking off to the side. Night had blanketed them in darkness. Their only source of light was the small fire off to the side. That wasn't what Eureka cared about. she had her sights on the thing far away from them.

Early that same day a man had died. Every attempt to save him was futilely refused. They had decided to bury the old man, both she and Eoin. With out shovels, her hands were left dirty and moist. Her thoughts were already dark, but the filth on her body added to the mood. The path she was looking down led to that same grave. It scared her half to death, but she couldn't look away. Maybe it was the fear that would push away the painful feelings inside. She wasn't sure.

It crossed her mind that it wasn't her fault. She knew that it wasn't her fault. But her mind kept steering back to the people who were going to die. Death was such a peculiar word. It was apart of her life, each and every day. Yet, she never got use to it.

"Eureka?" His voice called to her. It was so warm and soft against her ears. She wasn't even sure it was actually a sound, or tender hand stroking her face. Gently she turned to the voice to see it was him… the man she thought she'd lost. For a moment when she was just lying there, looking down that dark path, she felt hopeless. But then there was Renton.

"I." She opened her mouth, and the warm feeling seemed to drain from it. It wasn't Renton, it was just Eoin. Her head turned back to the dark path, "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" He asked her like he might have cared.

"I'm fine." Her solemn voice came back.

"You know…" Something suddenly seemed difficult for him. Eureka noticed and looked over, "It uh… wasn't your fault."

"What wasn't?" She turned all of her attention to him. This wasn't like Eoin. It actually seemed more like… him.

"I mean the man's death."

"I know that." She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree.

"Then what's wrong?" Her eyes drifted open and then stared into his.

"Doesn't it bother you? Those people who needed the medicine. They don't have any help." Eoin uncomfortably turned where he was sitting. The trees around them were reflecting a soft glow from the fire. Everything was very mellow.

"Yes, it does… or at least it should." He clenched his teeth and looked around as if confused.

"What's bothering you?" Eureka sat up, seeing something was happening inside him. She wanted to know what he was thinking.

"I don't get it… why do I feel this?" He turned back to her.

"Feel what?"

"Tell me who you really are."

"I'm Eureka."

"I know that… but then why do I feel like something else is missing." He gripped his forehead and leaned forward. Eureka could obviously tell something was struggling within him.

A long silence took place between them. Long enough that the fire had started to die down. Soon all that was left was the glowing char coal.

"I'm… confused." His voice was alone against the lack of sound around them.

"Could you tell me why?" She was trying to be careful, but it was hard. Asking a question directly like so might make him suspicious of something.

"I'm not sure." Tiredly he lifted his head and looked off to the side, avoiding her solid stare. Around him Eureka felt some kind of invisible wall. He was shutting himself out from her. Being so close, she wasn't going to let it keep her out.

"Eoin, where have you been for the past ten years… just tell me." She was calm in tone. It was hard not to urge or force an answer.

"I can't tell you something like that."

"It won't make a difference." Her voice was soft and gentle. It was a voice she liked to use, only towards one person.

"I've been training." He admitted at last.

"In what?"

"I can't… It was a small secluded base… I really can't say this."

"Eoin." She stood up and walked over next to him. The action caused him to lift his head and look up at her. The moon was glistening in her eyes. It reflected a perfect balance of the violet beauty already in them. Her hair was soft and beautiful.

"What?" He gazed up at her, almost dazed.

"I lost some one very close to my heart ten years ago." Her body glided as she knelt down in front of him. Now they were level with each other.

"Why do you keep bringing those ten years back up?" Once again he looked away, now in ignorance.

"Just listen to what I need to say… Ten years ago… what happened to you?" Her voice was so calm and gentle to his ears.

"That's the thing, I don't remember." Eureka felt her heart throw in an extra beat.

"What do you mean?"

"Ten years ago I was on a ship. I woke up in a pretty bad condition. The whole left side of my body was ruined. I mean every bone was broken along my side. I also had several gashes all around my body. The doctor had fixed me up. He said a few seconds later and I wouldn't be here."

"I see… so something happened, what?" She asked carefully.

"I don't know. Everything before that is blank, utterly blank. All those year before just vanished. My father told me what happened." What he said didn't process through Eureka's brain at all.

"Father?"

"Yes, I don't even remember him before that point. The doctor told me to be with him and my brother." Yet another thing that confused Eureka all together.

"You also have a brother." Inside she felt her body loosing energy. The possibility of this being Renton was shut out.

"I don't remember him before either. These past ten years I can hardly remember anything." He studied the new look of sadness on her face.

"I thought… you mean." Somewhere hope was calling, "You don't remember?"

"No, not anything." Eureka wanted so hard to believe. Emotions were crushing her insides together. She rushed to stand up and turn around. Tightly she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to contain the feeling.

"Eureka?" Eoin stood up behind her. She wouldn't face him. It only made the feelings stronger.

"You think you're confused?" She closed her eyes, "I can't stand this… I want to believe, but I can't. I want to know if it's possible. I want it to be possible." She held herself tighter.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you're even trying to say."

"It's him."

"Who?"

"I can't say."

"Do you mean Renton? That man that died ten years ago? You're still clinging to a memory like that?" The feelings inside her were split by a force more powerful. It was something she rarely felt towards others. Her entire body sharply twisted around to face him. Eoin almost fell back as her eyes dug into his.

"Renton wasn't someone that can just be forgotten. It's because of him that you even exist. That I'm even here! He taught me how to become who I am. An emotion he taught me that I haven't felt for so long." She held her head, "Why did this happen?"

"What happen?"

"You!" She came close to yelling. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Why me?" He was almost scared to ask.

"Ten years ago… I thought I had lost him." Her eyes suddenly became soft and caring. She was looking up into Eoin's eyes. They were strong, holding a strength she had seen some where before. But they also seemed confused and lost.

"What are you trying to say?" He was unable to break his eyes from her. Eureka felt the temptation burning inside her, she couldn't resist it. Ever so slowly her hand was lifting.

"You said you were confused, right?" She took a step closer to him. He didn't move away.

"I don't understand this." His eye caught the hand lifting.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"You think I'm…" He stopped when her hand was close to his face. Tempting, it was to her. She just wanted to reach out and feel his face. Somehow she thought it might give her proof that it was truly him.

"I'm sorry." She reached forward and pressed her hand against his cheek. It was soft against his, as his cheek was soft against her. There was a feeling building inside her. It was strong and thick. Doubt was washing away completely. Eoin didn't make a move. He just stared into her eyes. Then with out warning his eyes shot wide open. Abruptly his hand whipped and slapped hers. Pain stung her arm mercilessly. She fell back while gripping it tightly.

Silence had found its way in the worst place. Neither would speak or utter a word. Most of the pain Eureka was feeling wasn't in the arm, but in her chest. It burned like someone was twisting her heart around a poll.

"It's." Eoin was staring down at the arm that had slapped her. It was hurting for him too, but he couldn't understand why. In his confusion, he looked at Eureka. He saw that agony stirring in her face. It burned against his eyes, forcing him to look away in guilt. She turned around and took her things. Someone had taken her hopes and threw them away. Emotions drained from her, desires disappeared, and love demolished. Eoin had destroyed her. She wanted it all to just disappear.

Quickly she set up her sleeping things and lied down. Eoin was still standing, looking away without a word. She didn't even care anymore. He had caused her pain, it was impossible for him to be Renton. Now all she wanted to do was forget. If she could forget, then maybe the pain would go away.

It wasn't a long time until Eoin finally set up for bed himself. Part of him had been revealed, truths that were dark. He had felt something that he wasn't sure was real. Thinking back, he wishes he could change it, change everything. But that was impossible. All he knew was that sleep would give him little comfort that night.

---

"If the tree does burn in the night… it could." Maurice was sitting in a dark room. A recliner gave him comfort while he sat. Beside him was a small table with a blue lamp. The glow it emitted was mellow and deep. Three shelves lined the wall, jammed with books, and in the corner sat a neatly made bed.

All of that wasn't on his attention though. Currently he was writing for something. Through the past few years he had done a lot of writing, and drawing. Ten years, seven spent building his hate. He could still see the sad look in his mother's eyes, and it only left a curdling hate inside. These feelings he felt were transferred into words. They held power, meaning, and twisted truths. After writing for long periods of time, Daia took notice. She saw that Maurice had the potential to convince. Like Gekko-State had Stoner, the U.F. now had Maurice. Maurice became a deathly powerful weapon. People felt the emotion in his words. His words were like the match to light their fires.

Still, with all the years passing by, the feeling was starting to turn raw. Hate was a powerful thing, but it was tangible. He thought that it would be impossible to stop hating Eureka, due to her self pity after Renton's death. Continuously he tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't give. So he got angry and left. His anger held with him for a long time, until he met Daia. It was strange that she would be the one to change his thinking, since she hated the P.O.F. and everyone else that wasn't U.F.. She had become an example for him, as if a burning message flying in a pure black sky.

"Hate is a force that can run on indefinitely. But when hate losses its mask of lies, it runs on a thin string. What are we to…" He stopped and reread his words. His hand crushed the paper and then, in rage, threw it across the room.

"I can't think things like that… no, not now." His breath was quick and short. A knock at the door forced him to relax. He walked over and opened it.

"Maurice, you didn't show up for dinner?" Daia brushed back her short blonde hair. She stood tall, wearing her U.F. uniform. Even as tall as she was, it didn't match Maurice's own height. Before answering, he glanced at the crumpled piece of paper.

"I was doing a lot of writing. I thought I had an idea, but it wasn't anything." He laughed, trying to cover up what he was really feeling. Daia nodded and stepped into his room.

"Oh really, what?" The question tinged his nerves. He felt like he could really trust her with his feelings, like he had to her. But these feeling were different, ones she wouldn't like to hear.

"I think… It's not important." He smiled and started for the door, "Sorry I made you wait like that. If you want…" Maurice noticed the crumpled piece of paper catch her eye. She walked over and picked it up. Opening it, she started to read.

"Did you write this?" She asked while reading.

"Yeah." It came out so hesitantly, that it sounded like an actual difficult thing to say.

"I've never seen you write something like this before. I like it, what's the motivation?" Maurice let out a sigh, knowing that he had avoided a big problem.

"Nothing, I just wanted to try on a different pair of shoes. The old ones get a little… raw." He joked a joke that only he could understand. Daia shrugged and handed him the paper.

"Keep it, I'd like to read it again sometime." She walked past him through the door. Maurice gently lifted the paper and looked it over. Bends and rips covered the paper furiously.

"Maybe it's time I change my pair all together. I'm getting sick of this… It took me seven years to figure this out? To figure out that maybe…no." For a few more moments he looked at the paper. Briefly he looked at the door to see Daia wasn't there. Then he smashed the paper into a tight ball and through it against the wall, "But I don't have anything else… the store is sold out." He gritted his teeth, heaving a few deep breaths. Shortly he sighed and shook his head. Daia was waiting outside, so he followed.


	5. Chapter 5: Deceiving Threads

**Chapter Five: Deceiving Threads**

Destiny was something Eureka wondered even existed. It had an unfair amount of power, being able to set the game of life how ever it wanted. Sometimes the wrong dice is rolled, and the then the wrong result is received. At least that is what Eureka thought. Last night she understood more about Eoin, but not enough to understand him. He was just a walking statue next to her, silent and unmovable. She didn't even care to try anymore, not after what happened the night before. Since then, they couldn't even talk to each other.

For Eoin himself, Eureka wasn't so sure. They had been walking since morning without a word. This man next to him wasn't someone she knew. Renton would have never dreamed to cause her that pain. Although, that was beside the point. Time was wedging its way back into her thoughts. Right now more than ever she wishes she could see Kess, and she knew that Kess was probably a few months away. The chances are that she would be spending all that time with Eoin.

Those next few hours were slow to her. she counted them, rejecting any other possible thoughts. During those hours they covered a lot of ground. Gravel cracked and crunched with every step. The sky shifted from dark to light and then slowly back to dark. Along with it all was the sound of the forest. After how much they've walked, they still had yet to see a single animal. But the constant twitters and rustles in the forest reminded them they weren't alone. While the day was still bright, Eureka was sure there was only darkness.

"There's the city." Eoin sounded casual, Eureka didn't believe it. So she casually decided not to give attention.

They walked into the city around them. It was large, but only due to the buildings being spaced out. A single thick road split the city in two. Several smaller roads connected to it like the roots of a tree. The buildings were blocky looked to be made of a dry cement. But that wasn't what was so odd to Eureka. Not a single soul was to be seen. It was very quiet, with only the sound of rustling trees to accompany their ears.

"This isn't right." Eoin rested a hand on his pistol. Ignoring him, Eureka continued forward. Suddenly she stopped and looked around. Eoin stopped beside her.

"What is it?" He asked. That was what was bothering her, she didn't know. An uncomfortable twisting feeling resided in her stomach. She continued to search, until her eyes landed on one building.

"Eoin!" She yelled and jumped at him, knocking the both of them to the ground. Like the sound of a quaking earth, a bullet exploded through the air right after. Eureka could feel the brush of air that was pushed out of the way. What ever the gun was, she knew wasn't simple.

"Thank you." His voice hinted at his pain. A look of wide surprise was plastered on his face. The brewing habit kept, she ignored the thanks. They both scrambled for the trees next to them. The gun fire continued, but not at them. Eureka noticed and turned towards the buildings. Bullets were flying against the window that had shot at them. Little flakes were spraying off like dimmed sparks. She followed the gun fire to a building right across.

"Are you two ok?" A young man's voice whispered. Eureka lifted her head to see two young men standing above them. They looked to be only eighteen.

"We noticed you're U.F. uniform. Sorry, we couldn't see you from our position. But who is…" The other man indicted to Eureka. He looked at her in utter confusion. Then the realization smacked him into action. He flinched back, taking Eureka by surprise.

"Impossible." Choked the man.

"What is it?" the other with black hair asked, "Eureka from Gekko-State? What are you doing here?" Both of the men slipped out their guns.

"What are you doing?" Eoin frowned at them.

"She's an ally of the P.O.F." One gritted his teeth at her.

"Yes, but what are you doing?!" Eoin yelled as the man raised his gun at her. Sadly for them, they didn't know Eureka had been professionally trained. Instinctively she rolled across the ground and to her feet. Too fast for the men, she twisted around and launched her foot into the man's stomach. He toppled over, holding his the tender pain as he did so.

"Eureka, wait!" Eoin called while she was about to deliver another attack. It passed through her consideration to just ignore him, but she halted. After all he had done, she wasn't sure why. Either way, the man flinched as the welcoming shoe stopped inches from his face. She lowered and stood straight. Her movement was perfectly smooth, with out flaw.

"You…" The man was gaping for breath.

"Tell me…" Eoin paused and urked while standing up, "Who are you people, and what's going on?" He struggled to say. Somehow these people were on his side, and that left him to talk.

"I'm Daniel, that's Jackson." The younger man pointed at the other on the ground.

"Ok… What's going on?" Eoin persisted.

"We're fighting against the P.O.F." He sort of mumbled.

"Wait, the U.F. is here?" Slowly a smile curled at the idea.

"No, just the wannabes." The man gripped his gun a little tighter. Eoin sighed, his hopes a little two high.

"Alright, then I guess you guys are wannabes too?" The man immediately shook his head, offended at the idea.

"No, we're going to be there. We're already taking down the enemy." The man smiled like he was proud.

"Hold on, you mean you're fighting your own war here? You guys are the U.F., and they are the P.OF.?" Gunshots continued to disturb their conversation.

"Yes…" He said it like it was well known knowledge. Eoin shook his head tiredly.

"Eoin." Eureka called his attention. He turned to see her looking back. The stare meant they needed to talk, alone.

"Stay here, I need to discuss something with Eureka. Only need a minute." Before the man could reject the idea, Eoin and Eureka were walking deeper into the forest. When they were a safe distance, they stopped. Eureka held an icy stare against him. It wasn't filled with hate; this is who she was now. All hope to become who she once was, was gone, leaving her dead and barely alive. She was cold again, the silence refreshed and valiant in her ears. Life… disappeared from her eyes. That is all Eoin noticed, the cold lifelessness in her eyes.

"They consider you an ally, so I did not say anything." She glanced down the bushy forest, "This is a bad situation. We need to help them see what's wrong."

"I know, this is a situation I've never heard of before. These guys are really fighting, and from the looks of it, actually killing each other." He paused and looked around the forest, "I'm not sure what to do."

"We'll do what remains most likely to lead to a good situation. We have to convince them."

"Convince… yeah, that would work. If this is some sort of little group warfare, then there must be some kind of leader. They know I'm a U.F. official, so they'll listen." He sighed and slipped his hands in his pockets, "I really wish we could just move along." Eureka started back down the path, completely ignoring him. It was her duty, desire even, to set things right. But while she was walking down the path, she couldn't stop her thoughts from returning to Eoin, wishing he didn't exist.

"Hey!" Jackson snapped when Eureka emerged. He lowered his gun when Eoin walked out from behind her.

"Take us to your leader… Or general." Eoin scratched the back of his head.

"Cill you mean?" Daniel spoke for once. Tenderly he held his stomach. Eureka had left her mighty mark.

"Sure." The only answer Eoin could think of.

"He's over at the headquarters." Eoin smirked, these guys were really trying to be serious.

"Is something wrong?" Danial noticed.

"No, just take us to the place." Daniel shrugged and nodded.

"This way." Both him and Jackson led Eureka and Eoin through the forest. Just as always, the tree were thick with plant growth. Eureka was slightly surprised she liked the feeling. The leaves swept against her skin, leaving it moist and cool. The difference between this forest and what they had seen so far was how moist the air was.

It didn't take long until they breached outside the tree. They passed between two buildings placed right at the edge. Being so close to the forest left the ground wet and sloshed. Moss was climbing up the wall and making itself a green home. They passed by it as they walked in between the buildings.

"Ok, here we are." Danial stopped in front of a fine painted door. He didn't knock, just stepped inside.

"They left the door unlocked?" Eoin whispered beside Eureka.

"It is a city." She answered back. But it still did seem a little naïve.

The two followed Daniel and Jackson into the building. The place wasn't exactly what Eureka had imagined. It was completely impractical, with the look of any other normal home. Actually, the place was extremely quant. The floor was very fine with an artistic rug. Off to their side was a small table set out with four plates and a flower pot in the middle. Next to that was a large shelf holding several more plates, and holding a design that looked to be carved by the hands of a famous sculptor. Farther down the other side of the room was study table with a window just above it.

"Hey Cill! Looks like we got us some visitors. Even a U.F. officer, or something!" Jackson yelled up the stair in front of them.

"A U.F. officer?" A man looking no older than the other men came down. He brushed back his scrambled brown hair. The man looked liked he had never made a brush make contact with his hair. Although it didn't look like it should, the look fit him, "My name is Cill." He held his hand out to Eoin. Hesitantly he took it and received a good solid shake.

"I guess you're leading over all of this?" Eureka's voice instantly caught Cill's attention. He jumped and searched around for something.

"Where's a gun, how did she get in here? Why is she here?" The questions continued popping out. He didn't stop until Jackson reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Careful, I'm not sure why, but apparently it's ok she's here."

"What?" Everything Cill was hearing wasn't making it to the brain.

"Eureka and I have things that need to get done. With her it becomes a little more possible to do." Eoin jarred in. Cill's attention was instantly caught by Eoin's powerfully stern voice.

"So… she's with you?" Cill coughed a few times, having let the surprise get the better of him. Eureka could see how inexperienced these guys were. She had to figure out why there would be a feud, besides the U.F. and P.O.F. argument.

"Yes, and that isn't important. Tell me, why are you having this war?"

"Because they're P.O.F."

"Can you tell me that they are really P.O.F. soldiers, enlisted as apart of the force?"

"Ye-… No, not exactly." Cill started to look around unsettlingly.

"So can you say you're fighting the P.O.F.?" Eoin's teeth were clenching tighter. Eureka noticed the hard cold stair in his eyes. She wasn't sure why, but she liked the look for him. It made him look like he was in control and ready to set thing on the right track.

"No… Well yes, they're going to joi-"

"NO! Listen to me, I don't think you understand what you're doing. You're not killing P.O.F., you're killing civilians!" Cill jerked back as Eoin exploded. This was even new for Eureka.

"I just… I mean they…" Cill's words flopped out of his mouth, having no connection to an actual sentence. The fear and surprise in the man's eyes could be easily seen. From all of their adventure, Eureka had never seen Eoin act with such a firm grip.

"You have no right to enforce the rule of death on this playground." Eoin reached to his side and jerked his pistol out of its holster. He then jabbed it at Cill's forehead, "I have every right at this moment to enforce the law. You violated so many terms of government, you idiot. If I truly wanted to, I could pull the trigger, and let your worthless body fall to the ground. I would feel no guilt, and I would be in no trouble with the U.F." Cill flinched back so violently that he fell against the stairs. Daniel and Jackson scrambled to get their guns. Eureka just stood there, studding the situation. She thought she finally saw the motivation in Eoin's anger. It was death, the unneeded deaths of the world.

"Put down your guns!" Eoin stabbed his eyes at Daniel and Jackson. They both froze in place.

"You can't tell us right out that we're wrong. How can I tell that you're a U.F. official." Cill interjected very carefully. Eoin reached in his pilots suit and pulled out a small card. On it scrolled several words, along with a picture of him at the side.

"This indicated that I'm U.F."

"But we can't."

"Have you killed any one yet, at all?"

"No…" The grip and tension in Eoin's eyes drifted. He lowered the gun and stared at the ground. Inside Eureka could see the concentration within him. He didn't like death, from what Eureka could tell, he even despised it. But she quickly shook the thought, giving him no credit. He wasn't a person she wanted in her head. He didn't deserve to be there.

"Eureka." Eoin turned to her. She still had the emotionless look on her face.

"What?" She asked.

"We're going to need to talk to the others as well."

"I know, you mean the P.O.F…. wannabes?" She hadn't heard of the term before.

"Yes."

"What's going on?" Daniel cut in. Eoin sighed and turned back to them.

"You don't understand how quickly you guys would be shut down in P.O.F. or U.F. territory. Neither of you have the authority to kill. You shouldn't even be fighting." He sighed again, "Are you solely fighting because their P.O.F. 'wannabes'?" None of them answered.

"What are you three going to do… How many are there?" Eureka stopped the silence from brewing.

"We can't just stop…" Jackson partly mumbled.

"I think we can." Daniel suddenly spoke out, "I'm sick of this whole thing. It's not like I haven't had the chance to kill one of them before… we use to be on the same side."

"How did this all start?" Eoin looked over at Cill. He reacted by looking around uncomfortably.

"Two years ago, that's when we came here. We set out to start another city. Supplies, goods, people, we had everything we needed. Two years had passed by until you have the city you see now. It's a little big, but the buildings aren't worth much." He turned around and looked up the stairs, "We started to think about… what was going to happen in the future. The first little fight started only half a year ago. One guy said he was going to join the U.F., saying they were right and the P.O.F. was evil. Another man was listening, and he disagreed. The feud built up from there. Now we just fight…" He shook his head like he couldn't believe he just said all that.

"So this all started over a little argument?" Eoin was looking at sheer stupidity. It's sad to see how the simplest things can start a war. He couldn't believe it.

"It needs to stop now." Eureka stepped forward next to Eoin.

"But I know their wrong." Jackson angrily said. Eoin sharply twisted his head at him.

"At the moment, you can't make that judgment. Me and Eureka have to get back on the road, and I can't leave this city until the feud is settled. It's apart of my duty to settle these kinds of things. I'll now be exercising my authority." Eoin stated coolly. Discreetly a smile was climbing up Eureka's lips, but she forced it down. It wasn't Renton, and she couldn't understand why she liked this knew part of Eoin. Still, even then, the feeling of hate yet again ruled over.

Cill shook his head and looked at them wall. Daniel and Jackson stood silently.

"But after all that's happened… You're acting like this is just going to simply stop." Cill turned around and faced Eoin, "But you're right, we'll face them. I think you should go over there. It will show that we are truly willing to come to a terms of peace." A smile of confidence settled itself on his face.

"Alright, good point, let's go Eureka."

"Wait, just in case. I don't like the idea of both of you going over like that. Eureka should stay here. Prove to us that we can trust you…" Cill commandeered the turn of events. Eoin didn't like the idea at all. He looked over at Eureka unsurely.

"I can fight my way through if something happens. You can go over." She nodded, approving the idea. Even so, Eoin still wasn't sure.

"Fine, I'll go, you can take care of yourself." Finishing off, he left the room and went out the door.

"Idiot." Cill muttered. Eureka frowned and turned around just in time to receive a hard hit with a gun. Her eyes went wide as pain cracked against her head. It suddenly felt as if she was made of glass, and as she shattered, darkness succumbed to her vision.

"That man isn't U.F… that must be some kind of forged I.D." Jackson clenched his teeth while kicking Eureka once in the side.

"Wait, aren't we going to…?" Daniel looked down at Eureka, horror quivering in his face.

"Daniel… you didn't really listen to them, did you?" Cill asked and turned his head with such a cold stare, that Daniel flinched his head away and nodded, "Good… now we can finally prove that we are right." Cill's eyes turned deadly, "We were just left the best of weapons…"

---

"It is inevitable…" The man in doctor's clothing looked away guiltily. Eureka and Irik faced the man. Eureka's hair was grown all the way down to her shoulders. Irik stood looking like he had been deprived of sleep for months.

"You can't say something like that… How much time does she have left?" Irik rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. They were standing in a large medical room. Patience lined the walls in medical beds. On the opposite side cramped plenty of computers.

"You act like death is preventable. In some cases that is true, but this is not one of those cases!" The man angrily responded, but quietly as to not disturb the patience.

"May we see her?" Eureka asked quietly and lifelessly. The doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes. He nodded while pointing down at the other side of the room. Eureka and Eoin followed his hand and walked. They reached a bed where Klera silently lay. In her arms was the precious child named Kess.

"Klera." Irik quietly called her name. His brows pressed together, easily showing his concern.

"Irik?" Klera's dry and withered voice responded. She scarcely opened her eyes to look around.

"Yes, how are you Klera? Eureka and I decided to drop by."

"I don't feel so great." She smiled weakly. Her body looked pale and frail, like her entire structure was about to fall apart at any moment. Even though Irik knew it hurt, she still smiled.

"Do you want anything?" Eureka quickly asked with her blank stare. Irik didn't see any emotion from her, but he knew she was in pain.

"Yes, actually… One thing." She coughed. Eureka raised her head anxiously.

"Eureka… I know I'm going soon." The smile dissipated from both their faces. Eureka looked away, lacking strength to hold eye contact.

"Please take care of Kess." The whim forced Eureka's eyes wide. She faced Klera, unsure of what to say, "you've taken care of Maurice, Maeter, and Linck so well. Please raise Kess."

"You…" Tears were rolling around in her eyes. Her throat started to ache, and her voice quivered. She didn't know what to say. How could she?

"I won't force it on you Eureka." Klera looked aside. The tears were about to roll as well. Eureka tried to force air from her lungs, or at least words, but it was blocked by some invisible wall. Taking a deep breath, she did all she could do, nod.

"Thank you Eureka… thank you so much." Klera held her child closer to her face, nuzzling her chin against Kess's forehead, "Now I know things will be alright… And Irik." Irik locked gazes with her when his name was called, "Take the journal… it's in my room, you'll find it. I haven't finished it yet, and I never will. Please just take it and continue to write for Kess… And please… please." Her head lolled to the side, and suddenly the computers went erratic. Beeps rapidly repeated from her console.

"What's going on?" Irik yelled and searched for a doctor.

"I think…" Eureka stared at Klera's eyes, they were unmoving.

"What's is it?" The doctor finally ran in.

"Something is wrong with her, I don't know." He pointed at the flashing computers. The doctor quickly looked over, a grim look coveting his eyes.

"Irik…" His voice started too slowly for comfort, "Irik." This time it was warbled, distance, muted, and slightly warped.

"What?" Suddenly he was somewhere else, actually, now he was in the Night Iris lounge.

"You do ok there Irik?" asked Dominic, who was sitting cross legged next to him.

"I'm just." Irik paused and rubbed his eyes. His head was pulsing with a sharp pain, "Yeah… I'm fine." He smiled and turned back to the rest of the room. Kess sat at the table with two other people. One was recognizably Anemone, but the other was much smaller with medium length hair. Irik couldn't help but smile as he saw the cotton candy colored hair match her mothers.

"Enra, try this." Kess reached across to Enra and drew something on her paper. On the table was littered pieces of papers and pencils. Next to them sat Anemone who anxiously examined what they were doing.

"A little surprised though," started Dominic curiously. Irik turned his head to him, unsure of what he meant. "If the U.F. don't have any information, then that must mean they don't have her either."

"I agree to the fullest," Irik yawned and leaned back in his seat, "No one knows… It doesn't make any sense." He rubbed his temples.

"Yes, where did they go," Dominic's voice came half distantly.

"Irik!" Sven'ts voice exploded from the room speakers.

"What?" Irik stood up immediately.

"Something's going on," he paused. "It's weird, come here." After finishing the comm.. beeped off.

"Dominic." Irik called as he ran out of the room. Dominic picked up on the urgency and quickly followed.

"Do you want to stay here, Anemone?" He quickly stopped and asked. She looked around unsurely. A second later, she nodded. "Ok, we never know what might happen, so keep it close." He pattered his side, indicating the holstered gun. With a quick smile of reassurance, he rushed out the door.

Both Dominic and Irik walked out onto the circular bridge.

"What's going on?" Irik demanded as he stammered down the steps. Svent nervously looked over his readings.

"It's-s kinda h-hard to say. Just give me a f-few seconds." Sweat was massing on his forehead. "Got it!" he yelled over excitedly. The front screen faded back and changed to a rear camera on the ship. When the site caught Irik's view, he thought his jaw would fall out.

"The Xellien" he choked through words, completely astonished. Then he noticed a black object flying along next to it.

"What's that?" Dominic stepped closer to the screen.

"Not sure, type unrecognized. That's definitely the Xellien next to it though." More confidence built in Svent's voice.

"I've seen it before," whispered Irik. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply. After a moment of pointless searching, he gave up. "It doesn't matter. Let them in."

"What, are you sure?" Dominic jumped in. The idea sound a little off the mark to him.

"There are over one hundred data checks I've installed into the systems. Trying to duplicate them all would be rather annoying and impossible. I'm sure that is the Xellien. Open the dock Svent." He looked at Svent directly in the eye. The gaze caused Svent to break away and look in between both Irik and Dominic.

"It'll be open in a second," he said at last and turned to his console. Graciously Irik nodded before running out of the room, Dominic following right behind.

They burst through the door and out into the large hanger. It was massive, stretching a good deal farther than the original Gekko-Go. But at one point in time, it was apart of the same ship. Irik could remember when Tolly had ripped everything apart, and put it back together as the Night Iris.

The hanger was built with grandeur. It showcased readied LFOs on either side. A few scattered spots were left open, incase of special arrivals.

No sooner after they had arrived, the large floor door opened. The resemblance between the Gekko-Go and itself were different, but still similar. This catapult door was shorter in length and thicker in width.

"Here it comes," nervously commented Dominic. Irik could feel the same nervousness protruding in his own stomach.

Two heavy objects slammed against the lowered door. Ear shattering screeches filled the hanger as they both swerved up the ramp. Trailing behind sprayed streams of flowing sparks. Chaotically the two LFOs turned around and parked, like they had been driven by drunken soldiers.

"Eureka's skills have improved," Dominic said with serious tone, but obvious sarcasm.

"Com on, it's possible something is very wrong." Irik didn't waste anymore time. He rushed down the steps and towards the LFOs. The closer they got, the more apparent Irik's worries confirmed themselves. He didn't want to believe it, but he wasn't sure he had a choice.

"This isn't right?" Commented Dominic as they climbed up the LFO. They reached the top and discovered what Irik had feared.

"They're empty." Irik looked at the Xellien, his eyes lost into some distance place. Both LFOs were driverless. How they made it on their own, was a good question. He was fully willing to do battle with that exact question.

"Dominic, go ahead and go to Anemone. I need to work on some things, so stay as long as you like." Dominic frowned at him.

"Why, what are you planning to do?" he inquired suspiciously. Gradually Irik turned his face to him. A blank, and yet, professional look in his eyes. Dominic wasn't sure what to suspect.

"I'm going to confirm my studies."

---

"Hey, don't shoot!" Eoin yelled out at the empty building. They were a little too quiet for his taste. Moments slipped by without a sound.

"What are you doing here?" another voice called out to him. It was too distant to tell from where.

"We got a problem here, and I think its time for it to be resolved. I have a pistol, but," he reached to his side and tossed the heavy weapon, "now I don't." A long silence took place. Eoin wasn't nervous, he knew they would take the sign of peace. Or at least he hoped.

"Alright, come on," a small stern voice whispered behind him. It came so suddenly that Eoin was about to turn around and muffle it to death. But he had been trained better, so he obeyed.

The gun nudged him forward tenderly. Steadily he followed the budge of the gun. It led him between several small buildings. These buildings were enclosed and cramped next to each other. Eoin constantly felt the need to hurry up and get past them.

Nothing else happened before they passed the last set of buildings. They stopped in front of a small and simple shack.

"Go ahead and open the door." Eoin could tell it was a girl commanding him. Besides the fact he had little choice, he opened the door.

"As long as I don't get shot," he grumbled back at her. This time she pushed the gun a little deeper into his back. Discreetly a tiny smirk grew on his lips. The girl was letting herself get annoyed. He quickly tossed the thought, avoiding loosing track of the situation. Both entered the building.

"Hmmm… small." Eoin let out as he summed up the room, which wasn't difficult. All that was to be seen was a dirt floor and unpainted walls. The place looked like an unfinished project.

"You surprise me, I thought you U.F. would pick up on this kind of thing." The woman sniggered. He didn't like that kind of tone. It left him bare and open for attack. He had no choice but to surrendered and let her take the win.

"Well?" he muttered after a long drag of silence.

"Yeah, as I thought." Eoin could smell the arrogance steaming from her voice. It sparked every nerve on his body. Arrogance was something that bothered him on another level. It reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

"Bend down and wipe the floor." She pointed with a smirk. The command was extremely odd, but Eoin obeyed. He bent down on the sandy floor and started wiping the. Eventually it dissipated and revealed a large panel door beneath. The site of it let Eoin in utter shock. He'd never thought someone would use this trick, but it did work, so he couldn't complain.

"Go ahead, open it." Cockily the girl waved her gun. His eyes rolled up and down, almost like it wasn't his own desire, but it was. Slipping his hand under the latch, he pulled the heavy, thin panel open. Underneath was a set of metal paneled steps. Rudely, the same girl he has yet to see forced him down the stairs with the tip of her gun. He followed and they stepped down.

"You've only been here two years, but you've made yourself a decent city," he tossed the comment back to her. Aggravation obviously filled her coming sigh.

"There are a lot of us."

"Where did you guys come from?"

"Doesn't matter, why do you care?"

"You're not the person I should be asking."

"Maybe you shouldn't be asking," she countered with a sneer. Eoin quickly decided that silence was the best course of action. This girl would be a useless target for answers.

After only a few more steps, they reached a door. It stood silently with solidness.

"Here." Forcefully she pushed past him and knocked on the door in a series of strange rhythms. A brief time later the door opened.

"Clarrisa?" a tall skinny man said, "what is he doing here?" He spoke with an authoritative but natural voice.

"Blake, apparently he needs to talk to you."

"And you brought him strait here?!" The man gawked in disbelief. Eoin, though, just stood and watched the pointless feud unravel.

"Hey, don't blame me. What else should have I done?"

"Take him to one of the prisoner houses? Just maybe?"

"How should I know?"

"It's obvious you idiot!"

"That's it, I'm sick of this." She turned around and started up the stairs. The man shoved past Eoin to idly watch her run away. Eoin was realizing two things. These people were amateurs and idiots. If that was true, then he knew he had a problem.

"I need to talk to you." Eoin interjected at last.

"You shouldn't even be here." Blake grumbled as he turned around and shoved past Eoin again. "Dan, Liv," he yelled while passing through the door.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Roughly Eoin gripped his arm to stop him. Blake twisted around violently, ripping away from his grip.

"Calling for people to take you away." His eyes seared into Eoin's

"No, listen, we got a problem here. You people are fighting for… I'm not even sure you have a reason." Eoin almost felt like laughing at the whole pathetic situation.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Blake placed his hands on his hips while mocking him. Just then the two men came in.

"It's time to stop the feud." It was as if time had stopped itself. All the men stared at Eoin with faces stretched by some reason of surprise.

"This is on the behalf of Cill?" His open mouth turned into a wide smile.

"Yes?" Eoin frowned at all of them. Something was obviously good, and he was obviously missing why.

"Finally, they want to stop," sighed Blake with draining relief.

"That Cill must have finally given in," one of the other men said in the same tone.

"This is perfect!" Blake almost exploded with sheer excitement, "we're finally going to stop fighting," he yelled and screamed, draining all that he was feeling. While all this was happening, Eoin was just standing and watching. These men apparently didn't want this war either. It was a good sign; it meant that they could leave at last… with Eureka.

"Eoin!" A man's voice yelled from above. Eoin turned around to see Daniel being roughly forced down the stairs. Two other men were holding him tightly, letting no chance of escape prevail itself.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?" Something was apparently wrong, and it left a turning feeling in his stomach.

"Cill was lying. Even I thought he was telling the truth for a moment. Please Eoin, do something, I'm so sick of all of this." The man fell to his knees, to weak to give out anymore. Eoin almost felt sorry for the guy. He was feeling something inside him that was completely new. It left him knowing he needed to help someone.

"Dang that idiot Cill." Blake slammed his fist against the wall.

"I need to get Eureka back. Understand that I can't help you until I do." Eoin turned around and faced Blake with a hard serious stare. Eureka needed help, and he intended to give it. Even though she was who she was. Duty is all that drove him. Then, he still felt something else was wrong, but he ignored it.

"Eoin, is that what he called you?" All the excitement and joy was drained from Blakes features. Now it was completely filled with importance to the situation.

"Yes, that's my name."

"I can't have you stay here, this isn't a simple feud. Several have already died… it's just plain stupid."

"Wait, people have died? Cill told me that there were no deaths." After Eoin had finished, Blake suddenly started laughing. Through his laugh Eoin could see his gritted teeth of frustration.

"I don't know what that idiot told you, but there have been several deaths. This is one of the first cities to be built on this continent. Me and my group were following Cill's group along. He's a lunatic, doing what ever he pleases. It only started out with just five people, then that became ten, and then twenty, forty, sixty, eighty… Well, eventually we found this city filled with people of all ages. Cill killed them, we protected what we could. The only ones allowed to live on Cill's side were people who wanted to join his little group of murderers. What ever we saved, we safely escorted out the city until they could leave. It's hard here, and you can't stay. If he told you a lie and had you sent off, I'm sure he'll plan to kill you as well. You're a foreigner in this battle, and he doesn't like people like you to interfere. Three days ago he sent off two men to go kill this older man… to steall some sort of package he was carrying. We tried to stop him, but we were too slow." Blake finally stopped and heaved a sighed filled with dread. Eoin gritted his teeth, unsure of what he could do, but he knew what he needed to do.

"I can't leave without Eureka."

"Eureka, that's right!" exploded Daniel as he rushed to stand up. Eoin turned to him for any information he might hold. "Eoin, he has Eureka in one of the reconstructed houses. Look, I know everything he's planning. I was barely able to gain enough of his trust through my friend Jackson. They're planning to use Eureka as bait. He wants to make some kind of exchange for her and then you're guys' surrender," he huffed after talking to fast for his lungs to keep up.

"I knew I shouldn't have left her alone." Eoin's teeth tightly clanged together. Now it might be impossible for him to save Eureka.

"Eoin, I don't want you nor Eureka to be apart of this battle. You two should just leave. I'll help you get back Eureka, if you make the promise to leave immediately after." Blake made the offer, it seem almost too accepting.

"Understood, we'll leave immediately."

"Good, then I suspect Daniel to lead the way." Daniel nodded vigorously at him.

Five hours later and the plan was set. Eoin was being led along by Daniel. The hard cold tip of a gun was tightly placed against Eoin's head.

"Cill doesn't fall for these kinds of tricks," Daniel nervously commented as they walked between the buildings.

"It doesn't matter, we'll be ok. Blake has three teams leading along outside of the city. Cill will be concentrating too much on us. Or at least I hope he does." Daniel let out a small laugh when Eoin spoke.

"I hope you're right. Because in return we give up our lives."

They continued to walk until they reached a large house. Daniel knocked on the door several times. Silence was all that followed. Until the sound of a small clicking noise came from the door knob and it opened. Behind it was a very recognizable man.

"Daniel, we were wondering what happened to you." Jackson frowned between the two, "Come on, Cill needs me and probably you too. He might be happy that you brought Eoin." He indicated for him to follow. Daniel continued to hold his gun at Eoin's head. They entered the building, passing by several men and women, all armed with guns. These people were ready for something to happen, Eoin was quickly noticing.

A series of hall and stairs led them to a large plain room. There were five other men inside, all cramped together around something, one was Cill. The man looked up as the three of them entered.

"Eoin, Daniel? Amazing Daniel, how did you find him and capture him safely?" Cill shook his head in amused disbelief.

"B-Blake had rejected his offer," airily he replied.

"Good timing, we just finished interrogating the prisoner." All five men stepped aside, revealing a battered person on the floor. It was Eureka, and she was in shambles. One side of her face was badly bruised, while her face was also writhing with pain. He could tell by how tightly it was scrunched together, forming a scowl of agony. Before he knew it, his feet ripped him away from Daniel and carried him to Eureka. The five men cleared at his approach.

Eoin knelt down next to her, clearly seeing how much pain she was feeling.

"Eureka, are you alright?" he calmly and yet quickly asked. She moved her head slightly, giving no response. Reaching his hand under her waste, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. For no reason she suddenly ripped away from his helping hands. Her scowl of pain turned to a scowl of hate.

"Don't touch me," she coughed and continued to glare at him. The look burned against his skin and down into his stomach. Even though he wanted to look away, he couldn't. Eureka saw the new look on his face, and she swiftly twisted her head away.

"Interesting, so you two really aren't on the same side?" Cill asked during the whole moment of thick emotions. Eoin didn't answer, neither did Eureka. They only continued to look at the ground, and away from each other. "Well, I'll be the first to mark the world. Amazing, we'll do what the U.F. couldn't. Daniel, you have your gun out, kill them both," he waved his hand like it was a simple and careless command. But for Daniel it was another kind of command altogether. The gun was shaking in his hand, and he was looking between Eureka and Eoin frantically. This didn't skip Cill's notice, or anyone else's.

"Danial, shoot." Jackson frowned and him. His shaking started to become more violent.

"Fire you idiot!" yelled Cill with violence wrapping around his voice.

"I…" Daniel pointed the gun at Eureka, who returned nothing more than a cold stare, as if she were ready to die, "please don't give me that look," quietly he begged, but every one could hear. Eoin saw Daniel's finger tighten, he was going to do it.

"No!" Eoin yelled and leaped at him. He soared through the air and knocked Daniel to the ground. It was strange to Eoin, instead of a look of pain, it was a look of relief in Daniel's eyes. The man didn't want to kill anyone. His chance had come. He knew he could trust him, "Daniel, listen to me. I'm going to try and run. Shoot me, but don't hit me. If you do accidentally hit me, I won't blame you." Dazedly Daniel nodded at him. Another plan was in place, but just after everything seemed like it had settled, the walls and the ceiling suddenly exploded. Dust and smoke fell like a waterfall on top of them. It quickly filled the room, cutting the pure air that comforted their lungs. The moment the smoke filled Eoin's breath, it quickly flared his lungs in a burning fire. Coughing filled the room along with his own.

"Fire, throw everything you got!" Blake's voice yelled from above.

"What, that's not right?" Eoin coughed as he scrambled to find Eureka through the dense smoke. The plan wasn't to charge in this early, but there was Blake and his men. He realized that Blake must have lied, and never planned to help him and Eureka. The entire plan was just a way to move them along, and take advantage of their being there.

"Eureka, where are you!" he yelled, and suddenly felt a hand take his. Warmth was filled inside its soft touch. Immediately he knew it was Eureka's, so he didn't resist its pull. It led him through the dense smoke and back up the stairs. Just seconds after leaving the room, a loud explosion shook the entire building. Debris fell in small wooden bits against their heads.

"Hurry Eoin, we don't have time." Eureka's voice wisped into his ringing ears. She continued to pull until he was back to his feet following her. They ran up the stairs, through the scrambles of bewildered people, and back out into the open. Eoin glanced back at the building. Smoke was pouring from the windows. From the single door jumbled several people trying to get out.

They rushed through the city, Eoin's backpack jingling with every push.

"We're safe, now let-." The second she stopped, the second Eoin passed her and pulled her along.

"No, we can't now. We have to leave, this is a city of liars. Blake, the leader of the other group… he made a promise and broke it. It almost cost both our lives"

"We can't just leave them Eoin!"

"Maybe when we have the resources Eureka, but we don't!" he roughly threw back at her. His harsh reaction was received by a cold stare before she looked away. He ripped his head forward, ignoring her all together. Their feet carried them all the way out of the city.

They left the city and words left them. It stayed that way for an entire week. Conversation was a dead cause, neither attempted to talk to one another.

---

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. School has a habit of holding me back. It left me little time. I also got distracted by some other things as well. One thing I'm trying to achieve in all of this is consistency. I've noticed a lot of other stories aren't like that. I make the promise that this story will finish, with out a doubt. I also make the promise that I will be consistent by posting at least once a week. Lately I was slow, but I will resume the habit of posting on Mondays. I'll also really try to get two chapters in next week, but no promises.

Anyway, I would like to quickly confirm something. I just went back and checked over my first chapter… Sadly, I left out a detail that I was quite sure I had mentioned, and it's extremely important. Chances are it's down in my notes, and I forgot to type it. Eagle Eye, I see what you're saying about the wings. The detail that I was going to add will be added in the next chapter. Look out for it. I also appreciate all you're comments. It really helped me out in how my viewers see my story. Some of the questions you've asked… I can't answer, you'll have to wait.

Really quick, thanks again guys for reviewing. Understand that it's the only way I can tell if this story is worth anything. If you guys don't review, then I'm not sure if this story is any good, or even worth submitting. So thanks, please continue to review.

Last of all, I've finally decided to get a beta reader. In every review I've noticed the comment: "A few typos, some grammatical errors, etc." If any one is up for the job, please say so in a review. Please don't ask if you're already beta reading someone else's story. I know some have offered, I'm just confirming now if it's still ok.

Thank you all for your reviews. I'm doing the best I can to satisfy your fandom needs.


	6. Chapter 6: Night and Day

**Chapter 6: Night and Day**

"We've been called on a separate kind of mission." Daia firmly announced before the group of people. They all stood in a single line, strait and ready, "You are my group, my personal soldiers. I'll serve along you as you serve along me." She smiled at her men and women. Their faces were professional, showing no emotion. This is how soldiers were meant to be.

She turned her eyes to one of the men that stood before her, Maurice.

"We have been chosen to find two missing people. Their names are Eureka Thurston, and Eoin Machale. There are no current leads to where they might be. Our mission is to take a ship and investigate. It is now our mission," she paused and scanned the line of people. "A ship has been supplied to our needs. They gave me a choice of any group of soldiers I wanted, but I chose you ten. You have been along my side the whole time. I even knew some of you back at the academy," her eyes quickly glanced at Maurice when she said that. "You are dismissed. The ship will be prepped for launch in a week. Report back to me in the morning." With one quick swoop she saluted. All of the soldiers quickly saluted as well, and then turned around to leave, except for one man. One still stood. There on his face resided a small clever smile.

"Commander?" he said, still standing ready.

"You didn't leave like the others?"

"For all the past meetings you have always asked me to stay behind. If you want me to leave now, then I'll start to do so." Turning around, he started to leave.

"Wait, I know," amusedly she called to him. "I do have something I need to tell you this time too."

"And what is that?" He asked and turned around back to her. Slowly she walked forward until she was right in front of him.

"Are you alright?" whispered her caring voice. Her eyes were suddenly glazed with the sense concern. Maurice was slightly surprised, he hadn't suspected that.

"Why do you ask?"

"I've know you long enough, Maurice. You haven't been right lately."

"I've just been a little confused." A few small laughs left his lips, it was true. Daia took a few steps closer to him, until she was only a few inches from his face. There was only one other time that he had been this close to her before. Her eyes were near enough to collide with his own.

"What confused you?" He could feel her breath against his mouth as she spoke. The smell of her hair fumed his nose. He liked it.

"What are you doing?" The question sounded rather stupid to him. Something was coming, and he could feel it, he even knew it.

"What are you feeling?" She asked right back at him. Maurice felt the air inside him suddenly become thicker and harder to breath.

"I'm not sure anymore," his answer came back to her. Her face was only an inch away from his. Maurice was sure she could feel the feeling as well. A smile was already crawling across both of their lips. She was beckoning him, but for some reason, he didn't move.

"Eoin… do you?" Daia didn't finish the question, but Maurice knew what she was asking. She was asking him a question that had bounced between them for the longest time. Her eyes were cool, silent, and seeking. Ever too slowly his hand lifted up and took her cheeks. Smiles faded from both of their faces. Replaced was a dazed wondrous stare. He was too sure now, but he didn't move.

"I'm…" The word drifted from his mouth. Words were being spoken that he couldn't here but was sure he could see through her eyes. They were filled with beauty. Her hair was curved and sleek with attractive nature. He just wanted to reach forward and… but he couldn't.

"I'm sorry Daia… Please don't ask why. I don't have an answer." Giving no more words, he dropped his hands and walked away. Daia watched, the empty room filling the gap he left behind. Her head fell to the ground, tears swelling in her eyes.

"Why…" she whispered.

---

Artisen walked into the hanger. Like always, the LFOs stood aligned. And like he suspected, there stood Irik. He silently worked on the Xellien and black LFO. Cords, wires, and computers latched to the defenseless beings.

"Still awake?" Artisen asked while taking a sip from his teacup. It wasn't filled with tea or coffee. Instead hot water remained in its empty space. He never liked the smell of tea or the taste of coffee. His only suffice was hot water. Oddly enough, he hated it. It stung his tongue and left a strange feeling in his stomach. But it kept him awake, so he drank it.

"I think I have it completely figured out." Irik's response came with half attention. His mind was more on his work, rather than Artisen.

"You should really get some sleep. It's two in the morning." He took another sip and bit his tongue as the liquid scorched his taste buds.

"No, I have it… this data has to be correct."

"Have what?"

"There's this theory I've thought about since the Xellien. I mean sometime after Eureka got a hold of it. It's readings started to change from previous tests. I call it true awakening."

"True awakening," said a now curious Artisen, "Are you relating this to the activation of the LFO? When you turn it on?"

"Exactly, it's very intriguing. I call it this because all LFOs have to be started, or awakened, by a special process. I'm not really sure why it happens, but when an LFO truly awakens, it can start thinking and acting for itself. Incidents have been recorded in the Nirvash, such as an incident happened during the time when Nirvash was receiving spec two. I also found logs in Mischa's computer. The Nirvash actually moved on its own. I started to notice similar occasions from the Xellien," he hopped down. His eyes remained on the Xellien as he walked over to Artisen. "I think the black LFO is awakened," his voice was filled with complete awe. This whole thing fascinated Irik, it made him feel fresh and alive. It had been so long sense he put his ideas to the test.

"You think that thing has this… True awakening too?" Artisen motioned with his cup, "I like the name. Has that kind of," he paused to carefully consider what he could say, "fresh scientifical clashing." A small chuckle leaped from his lips, "how long did it take you to come up with it?" He nudged at his good friend. Irik sighed and ignored his clever remarks.

"Quicker than it takes you to breath."

"You might have something going here, Irik."

---

Days were long, nights were short. Eureka despised that, since night was her favored time of day. It was the only time she didn't feel guilty about forgetting the world.

Eoin walked right along next to her. An entire week had managed to pass with little conversation. Neither had a desire to talk to the other, but at times, Eoin couldn't stop his eyes from tracking her. Again and again he would study her face. Every time he tried, all he could see was the thick coat of ice that hid her emotions. She wouldn't even attempt eye contact. It annoyed him beyond compare. If she was going to ignore him, then he would ignore her.

"Eoin?" Eureka spoke out to him. His entire attention landed on her.

"Yes?" he answered a little too quickly. Eureka didn't pick up on it. Her mind was swimming about the dreams of another world.

"Next city is up ahead. It's still day, so we should restock supplies and leave."

"You have a good point," he nodded in agreement. Again, she didn't make any movement of reaction.

Seeing a city of this type was refreshing to Eureka's ears. People were talking about. A fine solid street was leading along other various houses and buildings. Scattered about flourished many green trees. It was extremely open, unlike the cramped trail behind. Most of all, she could divert her mind away. That was the most refreshing thing.

Their eyes moved about the area, searching for things they might need. Occasionally they would stop and pick up a few items, mostly food and water.

"I think that is all we'll need. With how far we have to travel," he sighed, aggravated, "We'll be sleeping in the forest again." He stole one quick glance at her, still no reaction. A quick sigh escaped his lung. He looked about the area, searching for something of interesting. His eyes then landed on the interesting thing he sought. "I think I just found something to solve our biggest problem." The energy of thrill leaked through his voice. She barely lifted her head to look, caring little.

"What is it?" She asked while tracking his gaze.

"There," he pointed and rushed forward to a little spot on the road. Nicely lined up were five motorcycles. Eoin was staring down on them like they were pure gold.

"Motorcycles?" Eureka examined them curiously

"Do you know how to ride one?" His eyes strangely lit up with invigoration. She didn't like it, not after all that had happened.

"Yes…" The answer came muffled. A memory started to trigger in her thoughts. It was back with the S.O.F.. Quietly she reminisced the time long ago. Adrock had personally taught her how to ride a motorcycle, being one of his favorite hobbies. He taught her many things, but Eureka knew he didn't teach her everything. There was Renton for that.

"Good, this is great! Where is the price?" Excitedly he moved around, looking for a tag. "These would cut our time down by more than half. We could get out of here… a lot faster," he said and stopped for a brief moment. Eureka turned her head to see a strange look on his face. It came when he said those last few words. When she gazed a little more, she saw his face shaped a small dazed smile. He was obviously please about something. Frowning, she carefully considered what he had said. Then the answer clicked. They could be getting home much faster this way. She could see the crew again, and she could see Kess. When she thought of it, two emotions poured through out her body. The two were both joy and dread. It clashed together like fire with water. All it did was produce a steam that stung at her stomach.

Discreetly she wrapped her arms around her waste, in hopes of muffling this new feeling. She ignored it as best as she could, which was as useless as trying to ignore her own existence.

"I'll go and check the prices. The sign says the entrance is over there. Give me a few seconds," anxiously he finished and entered the building. Eureka was left to stand alone. Her eyes turned to the ground, knowing no where else to look. A new cold feeling was enveloping her body. She couldn't understand what it was, but she was feeling it returning, the silence.

---

"So that would be everything?" Artisen casually asked as he and Irik walked down the halls.

"The procedures I'm using should work at a sufficient amount. Though, I am slightly worried. I'm hoping to avoid damage to the LFOs themselves." He let out a sigh of aggravation while rubbing his temples.

"Guess that's good," Artisen responded like he couldn't remember what they was saying.

"Possibly." They continued walking in silence.

"I won't hold it back," a single laugh pressed through Artisen's lungs, "I'm worried for Kess. With Enra leaving, and she was really helping Kess cope with this." He shook his head with a small smile of concern. The smile was gone when he lifted his head again. Irik immediately noticed the switch of emotions.

"You care for her that much?:"

"Kess is a good girl. I want to make sure she can be raised happily, even in times like this," he glanced up at the ceiling, entering some sort of deep thought. "She's not as strong as her father."

"That's true, but Konner is a different kind of person altogether, and not even I know what to do for Kess. This will end up being a difficult time for her. Maybe…" Irik paused and frowned at Artisen, "Maybe it would be best to just act like all is alright?" Artisen suddenly broke out laughing and shaking his head.

"You know, Irik? That almost makes you a hypocrite. Don't fall off the edge, you're getting a little close," his speech came through a few more amused laughs.

"What do you mean?" The frown on Irik's face creased deeper.

"Irik, think about it for just a second." Artisen started to sound like he was man explaining a brilliant idea. The change of tone bothered Irik's ego. "Since Eureka left you've been acting the strangest out of all of us. Now I'll admit that I was worried too, but I didn't let-," he stopped and a curious smile took his face, "never mind that, anyway, the point is you. You're moping around Irik." He stopped in the middle of the hall. Irik stopped right along beside him. There was an odd silence until Artisen slowly turned to him. This time his face was dark and cold. "I'm sick of it, Irik. I'm sick of this part of you that you've been flaunting lately. I've tried so hard to hold it back, but now even I feel the need to intervene. You can't seem to figure it out on your own." His voice startlingly became harsh, ringing inside Irik's ears, "I'm mad about this entire thing. Eureka's gone, Irik, and it won't help with the way you're acting. And especially of all," he took a few steps closer until only a bare few inches from his face, "Kess is the one who needs help the most. If you continue to act this way, even though you're my friend," a silence followed those threatening words. It looked as if he was on the verge of continuing, but instead his face broke out into a small strange smile. "I'm not sure what I would do." His eyes were on the ground as he shook his head. "Knock it off Irik." Like nothing was wrong, he continued back down the hall. All Irik could do was just watch him walk off. Everything that had just been said left a hard mark on his mind. He started down the halls himself, suddenly feeling timid and afraid of the walls around him. At any moment he felt like they would collapse, trapping him forever. His steps became hesitant. He knew it wasn't the walls, it was realization. It was the feeling of idiocy draining all normal thoughts of his mind. He had been stupid, stupid all along. Artisen was completely right.

"I've been an idiot," his words barely escaped from his mouth, coming out muted and worthless. Feeling like his legs were too weak to continue on, he gently stopped. Sleep was tempting his mind like never before. It worried him that he might not make it to his bed with this feeling. Too many nights left unslept developed this fear within. So he sat down against the wall, even as uncomfortable as it was. Darkness and rest crawled into his mind. He could feel the separate parts of his brain shutting down. It was quite amazing. Even with his mind finally receiving rest, he could only think of one thing.

"I'm an idiot," he let out quietly.

---

Eoin burst through the door, his body filled with anxiousness. Their chance to get home faster was now only inches away from his finger tips. He was sure he could just nab them, but he had to suppress his excitement. Otherwise he might come out just a bit strange to the seller.

"What're you're doings here, man?" A skinny and dirty haired man asked as Eoin approached the counter. One of his eyes was slightly more open than the other, making appear like he might have taken too many sips from the late night bottle.

"I noticed your five bikes out front. They are for sell, right?" Eoin barely withheld the excitement surging his voice.

"Aye, that thing is fer sell. I think it'd be, I mean." The man blinked a few times.

"Great, how much are they?"

"They're good for pricings. Take one of em' for about a good ol'… three hundred."

"Three hundred? That's good. Me and Eureka can pay that off. I'm sure she wants to get through all of this just as fast as I do. If that's right, then it rounds up to be about six hundred. Eureka wouldn't mind me putting in her share of the money." He reached into his pocket and paid the man.

"Ah, thank yeh sir. I've been wantin' to sell some of the bikes for a good time." The man greedily took the money, stuffing it into his pocket with obvious excitement. A sigh left Eoin lips. It felt good to be that much closer to home. Now it only felt a few feet away. Yet, he felt the strangest feeling of distance land in front of him. Like the road had some how grown four times in length. His steps to the door were hesitant, almost fearing what he might find behind them. As his hand reached for the knob, he could have sworn it shocked him.

The feeling was too peculiar. He started to wonder if getting the bikes might have been a bad idea, but how was that possible? The bikes were the scissors he needed to cut the thread of time. It continued to knag and knag at his mind, until he finally decided to just ignore it.

He pressed the door open with ease. Fresh air rushed past him, leaving behind the stale and deluded area behind. His eyes quickly scanned for Eureka. The need to get out of there as fast as possible pushed him along. With only a few more twists of the head, he found her standing at the side of a food stand. The man was polishing one of his fruits while Eureka was staring off. He saw her gazing at a single apple, dazed and mystified by its red perfection. All she did was stand there and pet its curved shape.

"Eureka!" Eoin called and waved for her to come along. She glanced at him with the strangest stare he had ever seen. It was filled with some sort of emotion. The cold sadness of lost hopes dimmed inside her eyes. When he continued to stare at her, he started to wonder if she was truly alive. Finally she looked down at the apple and back up at him. She then turned and started walking. The emotions were gone, and all he saw was the cold stare returned again.

Watching her pass by him, a strange feeling nudged at an idea. He turned around and ran over to the apple stand. A few words were spoken, but too distant for Eureka to hear. She decided not to care, and continued over to the bikes. Meanwhile, Eoin was pointing back at Eureka, and then over the apples. The man nodded and frowned down. After a moment, he pointed at an apple. A quick smile flashed across his face as he paid for the directed item.

Eureka gazed down at the bikes longingly. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad, but then, she couldn't understand her reasons for being sad. Bad things were happening, and she knew they would continue to happen. Good things stopped happening ten years ago, and she knew it would continue that way too. Even so, she could still picture him in her head. The image never faded, it was thicker than ever. It was probably do to him. His appearance was too similar to the original. Every time she set her eyes on him, the curdling feeling would start to twist inside of her stomach. It was too thick with reality and desire. Eoin was something she wanted more than anything else to just disappear. And then, she didn't want him to either. The feeling fought inside her. She looked down at her trembling hands, wondering which one was hers. For one represented a lie, and the other was a truth, but she wasn't sure which one, she wasn't sure who she was. A truth? Or a lie?

"Eureka," that same man's voice drew her ears. She turned around almost half expecting him, but it was only him. When she turned, her hands slightly raised, Eoin passed by and placed something right in her palm. Slightly surprised, she looked down to see it was the apple she had been admiring. It's curved beauty and shape with no other form but its own. That's when it hit her. Her head snapped up and looked over at Eoin. He was sitting on the bike, seemingly setting it up for the coming ride. The casualness about him was too plain for the feeling that Eureka felt. Inside her hand was the apple that could represent something slightly more. It filled her body with a gentle calm, and also a subtle surprise. She wondered why Eoin had given her the apple.

"Might he?" She whispered too silently to ever be heard. Her face turned back down to the apple. Hope is what she really felt in her hand, but that was a feeling she wasn't sure she should like, or fear.

"You can choose any of the five," his voice came again. Eureka slowly turned around back to the line of bikes. One of them caught her immediate eye. It was both a dark blue and bright teal. The colors tempted her attention, so she chose that specific one. Sitting down, she started to prepare the bike for travel. Both were already gas filled, and it was safe to assume they could purchase more along the way.

Two hours or so, Eureka wasn't sure. She let herself be drawn to the sunset at the side of them. Wind was pressing against her speeding body. The motorbikes were able to give that speed.

While she let the feeling curve around her, she continued to gaze at the sunset. It was golden with oranges and yellows. Clouds gently flew across its forever horizon. Above it rested the coming night, and bellow it was buried the leaving day. Eureka sometimes felt the same. She wasn't sure if she was night or day, or some sort of mix. It bothered her, it had for the past ten years. Renton was the first to really give her the desire to be who she wanted to be. But since he was gone, change took her. The only thing she was left to wonder was whether she was this or that, night or day. For a short time she was almost sure who she was. Ten years later and she thought she finally understood the person she could be without Renton, because his death left her in two different places, as two different people.

Then a new person entered her life, like some concealed shadowed that had always been tracking her. He smacked her thinking into another whole direction. It grew a confusion inside that she was sure would tear her apart. She wanted more and more to just know, rather then to hope. That all changed when she received the apple

Gently she turned her head towards Eoin. It was the one thing she promised never to do again. He was biking right along beside her. When she looked over, she barely saw him jerk his head away. She also twisted her head back and instead looked down at the apple that was in her hand. Curiosity took her thoughts as to why he had looked away, or why he was even looking at her.

Those thoughts were stirring in her head as she looked down. On the apple's surface was the supreme reflection of the sun. It was burning firm with new found beauty. As the thoughts and images began to stir in her mind, a smile curved at her lips. Somehow she knew the answer was coming. For the first time, she felt warmth fill her body. The answer was coming. She hoped it would break the barrier that separated to who she was. Two people had lurked about her thoughts for ten years, both being exactly her. Several times she found herself switching between the two One was cold and commanding, while the other was kind and caring. She wanted to know if she was night or day, or this or that. Time was all that held her from deciding who she was. The answer was coming, she was sure.

---

"Doing alright there, Irik?" Artisen commented as he walked onto the bridge. Irik was calmly sitting in the command chair, silent as ever. But as Artisen entered the room, the barrier of silence was hindered.

"I'm doing a lot better, thanks to you, Artisen. I can't really say I'm not surprised. That's a part of you that has just barely revealed itself." When Irik finished the reply, Artisen chuckled.

"I've used it several times before. It's something I got from someone who did the exact same thing to me… What are you up to?" The bridge around them was completely empty. All that filled it were the humming dashboards and their voices.

"This seemed like the only place where I could think about everything that has happened."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm referring to all that has changed over the years."

"I can agree with that one," Artisen added as he slipped into one of the seats. "Well then, what were you mostly thinking about?" He began to fiddle with a small object.

"Mostly, seven years ago. Around that time is when Eureka took the initiative and started Gekko-state up again. I was also remembering when she used to show her wings."

"That's right," his hands stopped, "Eureka used to have wings? Heh, so long ago, I forgot. None of us really asked her what happened to them."

"That's not true." Artisen perked up slightly at Irik's response.

"You actually asked her?" A smile was inching at Artisen's lips.

"Yes…" Irik dully responded, having a good feeling he knew what was coming.

"Was it around the… what did I use to call it?" Artisen tapped his chin quizzically. Irik rolled his reflexive eyes, "I think I called it the midturn?"

"And yes."

"That really was an interesting time," mused the now smirking man.

"She was so close… I was close, but she couldn't let go of Renton. I wasn't like him at all."

"I still can't believe you hid your feelings for so long. Doesn't help that you loved her and she didn't love you."

"She almost did." Irik stirred the words in his mouth.

"It would have been interesting, you two I mean."

"Indeed." Irik responded, in which Artisen chuckled again.

"How much did she reveal to you?"

"You mean about the wings? Not much, nothing actually. She wouldn't speak a word about them." He rested his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"I got to know Irik. Did you two ever kiss?" Irik immediately jolted in his seat, striking a glare of absolute surprise at Artisen.

"No!" He coddled, and then suddenly sat back with absolute calm, "She only gave me a look, once. That was just before she realized her feelings again for Renton. I haven't been able to decide whether it was that she couldn't let go, or she just didn't feel the same way as I did." A long drag of silence followed the room. Both stared off into a deeper place of thought.

"But the past is the past, right?" Artisen glanced over at him. Irik nodded.

"Yes, you're more correct than I ever was, Artisen. I'll never figure out how she truly felt. But I can say for myself that I've let it go."

"Are you sure of that?" The question turned the rusty wheels in Irik's head. It had been a while since he actually had to think. Especially after how tired he had been.

"Probably not." This time Irik smiled slightly. "But don't worry Artisen." He got up from the command chair. The sun was barely peeking through the view port. It wouldn't be long until the sun would rest against the horizon. Night would then be soon arriving after its leave, "I fully intend forget the things I can't change. I'm still shaking the habit of hoping for things that I know are impossible." With one quick twist of a smile, he turned around to leave, and suddenly froze. Artisen caught the strange movement out of the corner of his eyes. He looked over at Irik, wondering what he was doing.

"You ok there, Irik?" Shortly after Artisen spoke, Irik fell to the floor. A boost of sporadic energy shot through Artisen's body. He leaped from the chair and rushed to the fallen Irik. "Hold on there buddy, what's wrong?" His hand gently scooped under Irik and turned him over. When he did so, all he saw was his sleeping face.

"What's wrong with him?" A voice asked from above. Artisen looked up to see Terina standing above him. Her breath was slightly rushed. He found it odd to see her here right now, but that was not important. The thought was pushed from his mind as he lifted Irik from the floor.

"Idiot Irik, he never listens to a heed of warning. I told him two weeks ago to go see Dr. Ostler." They both rushed up the stairs. "Looks like he never listened."

The older man tapped his board pensively. He was still considerably young, showing little grey in his hair. But even he knew that eventually the grey would spec along any day now.

Terina and Artisen also stood in the room. In between them was lying a sleeping man, that man being Irik. Terina looked down unsurely. Her thoughts were concealed behind her face. Artisen did not share the same look; his stare was solid and stern. What ever really did happen, either way, he knew left it being a bad tiem for sarcasm

After a few more moments of painful silence, Ostler finally lowered his board. There was no look of worry or pity on his face. Which for other doctors would have been a good thing, but Ostler wasn't the average Doctor. Artisen knew this very well.

"Once again, Doctor, even you got me confused," admitted Artisen with his arms folded. Ostler nodded and looked at them casually.

"It took a bit of thinking, but I think I get it. The residue in the sample was hard to track. That's why it took me several hours. And before I forget, you two really need to get some sleep after this," the off topic suggestion came. Artisen could only nod and patiently wait. "But anyway, I'll try and put it in subtexts for you." He stepped around the medical bed and pointed at Irik's head. "He's somehow managed to attract a bacteria I've never seen before. Believe me on this one, I know every bacteria there is to know. So I'm not exactly sure how it's going to work out. Before I wander too much, let me explain how it works.

Alright, apparently the bacteria is cultivating around the brain area. It's latching onto veins and… injecting this strange toxin. I can tell because I also found the toxin in my sample. I think it might be some kind of offence mechanism. All I know is that it jumpstarts the brain. A person wouldn't be able to sleep for probably days, but that's not all. By doing more study on these bacteria, I've discovered more of its intentions. From what I can tell, the bacterium produces this toxin to intentionally keep the person awake. After long periods without sleep, they would be completely delusional. The mind wouldn't be able to work properly, nor would the body itself. To be quiet honest with you, he might have died. That's where the bacteria's real intentions come through. A person's inner protective system would be wasted. Neither a man nor woman could protect themselves against an attack like a virus, disease, or bacteria. This way the Bacteria can take over and begin to feed on the soon to become corpse." Ostler smiled and slipped his glasses off like nothing was wrong.

"So it's a parasite?"

"Essentially."

"Aren't you going to help him?!" Terina called out with sudden frustration. He turned with mild surprise at her.

"Of course, I am a doctor."

"Then how can you stand with that kind of look on you're face?" Anger was burning against her cheeks, giving a flushed red.

"If I worry about my patients," he slipped his glasses back on, "then I would be wasting valuable energy that could be used saving their lives. My mind is in one place, where it should be." The smile still settled itself against his lips. "I need you two to leave. It's going to take me a few hours to fix him up. If I can."

"If you can?" Terina started again.

"Please, I'll have to be asking you two to leave. His time could be running short."

"Come on Terina." Artisen moved over and forced her to start towards the door before she could even complain.

"Five years, Terina, and you never figured this out?" Artisen whispered over to her and the door closed behind.

"What do you mean?"

"That's just the way Ostler is. He's an incredible Doctor, the best we know of. And I respect him for both qualities."

"Respect him?"

"Yes, he's got that kind of emotion. It used to bother me, but not anymore." A chuckle left his lips as he turned back to the door. "The reason he acts the way he does is to avoid emotional connection to patients. He sacrificed that connection in order to clear his thoughts and do his work. That's what I see in him." Following his words came a quick sigh.

"But it seems so cruel."

"Heh, I bet it does, but that's why uniqueness was created," he turned back around, "To keep things seeming and the mysteries of the world flowing." Before leaving, he shared one smile at her and started down the hall.

"But aren't you worried." His feet stopped dead. For him, that was an interesting question to be asked.

"Ten year… That's about how long I've known him, and you have the gall to ask that kind of question?" Slowly he turned and faced her. His face held a smile of amusement. Although that emotion was obvious, Terina could feel the glare of disgust hidden about its mitts. It was a smile that left her feeling pathetic for asking such a question. She turned away.

"I'm sorry."

"As you should be." His answer came back while starting down the hall. Terina was left alone to fend with her thoughts.

"Why am I treated like this on the ship. Why can't I understand these… people…" She stared at the ground, pouring the sadness from her eyes. Soon the tears would gather in the same place, only to follow the same direction.

---

Eureka slowly opened her eyes. The moon above them was barely specking its light through the trees. Shadows cascaded her body as she shifted out of her sleeping bag. It was obvious that the fire had long past died. She only spared a second to look at the dieing ashes. Not too much farther away was Eoin. He was leaning up against a tree, the same sleeping bag wrapped around him. Thoughts of him started to envelope her mind. She quickly pushed them away. It was well known now that hope was dangerous. There was no way she would let it happen again.

Quietly as possible, she started around the trees. Her feet softly padded against the ground. Leaves crunched beneath every step. Around her was a mostly open area. The leaves hung high and no bushes took a home. So she passed through the scattered trees until she reached her destination.

Before her lied a small pond. The moon reflected against its unmoving surface. It held a light like golden milk. She reached down and unzipped her shoes. Once done, she slipped her feet into the water. The cold liquid tingled against her skin, but she gladly embraced it. Moving farther into the pond, the water climbed to her knees. Her pale skin began to quiver slightly. Even so, she endured it. This was her one chance, it wouldn't escape her. She reached behind her back and unzipped only half way down. When it had opened enough, her wings flooded out. It looked as if they had spilled into the air, spreading into a site that could sway the trees. The water rippled as her wings tapped it with gentle winds. Her wings had matured greatly, bigger and more beautiful than before. They stretched wide with a soft, curved glow. Gliding across the curves was the reflection of the moon. It filled her wings with silent power. Though one thing stood out to her, as it always would. One wing was a dark still purple, while the other wing was a bright active green. The colors may have clashed, but they mixed into a beauty that could defy thought. As the water rippled, it almost seemed like the pond itself was answering to her beauty. Spreading her arms, the wings stretched barely wider. The movement filled the whole area with a mystical glow. Soon everything was completely silent, leaving her in privacy.

It was the perfect time. She carefully scooped her hand into the water. Her right glowing wing curved slightly around her, then she took her dripping hand and soaked the glorious limb. Water dribbled down the surface that hummed its glow. This continued for the next thirty minutes. It was the only time in a long time she ever had to clean her wings. Night would then accompany to her rest after. She was ready for that, but she wasn't ready for the thoughts to soon follow. Renton and Eoin clashed inside her thoughts. That followed her to her rest, even in her dream. Where day and night found no common ground.

---

Please review and continue to review, I beg you!

Also, Artisen, just send an email to my . I'll send the documents through there.


	7. Chapter 7: Winning Beyond The Eyes

**Chapter 7: Winning Beyond The Eyes**

"Terina, you can come in." Ostler called from his door. Terina tiredly lifted her head to look up at him. She frowned when she noticed the stress and tiredness in his eyes. It was obvious that he had been working hard.

"Is he alright?" She asked while walking to the door. He let her into the medical room. Beeps and hums quickly filled her ears.

"From what I can tell, no." The answer came to her through faint lips. Instead of judging him, she remained silent. "I've done as much study as I could." They rounded the beds until they were on either side of Irik. His face remained emotionless. "I'm not sure what to do."

"What?" Terina blurted out.

"I'm sorry, but this is a battle he'll have to fight on his own. I can give him medications to help, but his chances are looking slim." He raised both brows casually.

"How can you say that with such calm?" Once again anger was filling her voice.

"There's little I can do but to continue the study of this infection. I'm not even sure how he got it or how it spreads. All I can do is continue to give him medication that should fight it. You don't really think I'll just be able to pop out a cure for a brand new disease, do you?" His reply came, but it wasn't the answer Terina desired. While she was building frustration, he leaned back in his seat and studied a paper. Not single spec of worry tapped his face.

"Doctor, I got the call, how is he?" Artisen asked as he charged through the door. His breath was quick, making it apparent that he had run.

"Not good. I can't find a way to battle this infection. He'll have to fight it on his own."

"Will he be able to do that?"

"I'm not sure." The doctor lifted his head at him.

"Thank you Dr. Ostler. Continue to do study."

"I was planning on it." The doctor smiled gingerly and then turned back to his work. Terina wasn't feeling the same calm. Her face was turning red with despise. Words were about to explode from her mouth, but it all stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Artisen. On his face was a convincing smile. It told her that they had to leave.

They both walked out of the room, leaving Ostler to tend to Irik. This time instead of stopping, they walked down the hall.

"You really aren't that great at hiding things, you know that?" Artisen sighed as he slipped his hands into his pockets. Terina walked along silently. "Give Ostler a break. Can't you tell that he has been working hard with Irik?" The carefree nature in his voice was still firm.

"I know, I'm just worried," came her timid reply. Artisen nodded slowly at her.

"Trust me Klera, I can tell. Otherwise I wouldn't be too kind at the moment. With Irik as sick as he is, I'm left in charge. Even though I don't like it," he quickly threw in the last sentence.

Terina frowned, "what?"

"Nothing, just remember that you're not the only one worried. Even I can tell that Ostler is stressed. He may not be showing it, but I'm sure he's feeling a heavy burden. Don't add to that burden, Terina. You are the Pilot and second chief engineer. Now that Irik is down, you are also chief engineer. I want to you to keep Irik a secret from the rest of the crew, that's your first command. Kess doesn't need more to worry about. As well as that, Dominic and Anemone will be leaving in the next few days." They both stopped at door. Terina blinked as she attempted to recall where they were. Her attention had been too much on Artisen when he spoke. "Terina," his eyes closed and he shook his head, "I can tell you're really worried about Irik, but this isn't the time. Eureka is missing, U.F. is increasing attacks, and we'll have to restock on supplies soon. Don't make a mistake." He turned his eyes to her. They were reflecting an emotion of seriousness. "I don't like to be too serious about things, and then again, sometimes I do. But now it is absolutely needed of me," he laughed, "If you need a reason, be strong for Irik." Her eyes bloomed into a wide look of surprise at him.

"What do you mean by that?" She stammered the question. Artisen smiled at her and turned back to the door.

"You see, that's what I mean. You're really too obvious, you know that?" Chuckling, he opened the door and entered. It closed behind before Terina could argue.

"What did he mean by that?" Terina muttered grudgingly. "I don't feel that way." She attempted to convince herself, since they was none to answer her. "He doesn't even consider…" Before continuing on she shook her head. Work was to be done, so she turned down the hall and started walking.

---

"This is a nice little city." Eureka commented as they motored through. She and Eoin passed through an arched doorway. It led them into the city before them. Buildings only lined one single road that passed through. For the most part, it left the place plain. None of the buildings were very detailed in design. Instead, they looked more like a rushed project for a simple home.

Eureka continued to study the buildings as they slowly motored through. Each building dully resembled the exact same design as the other. Few actually had windows or doors. Certain ones stretched a small porch. It was all very simple, nothing extreme. Her eyes fell on one building with a large window. Inside it displayed silverware and other meal assortments.

"I guess," Eoin replied, not sharing the same opinion. He turned his head to her. For what seemed like a long time, she was actually smiling. His eyes remained on her for a while until she looked back at him.

"Should we stop for supplies?" Eureka's sweet voice asked. He jerked his head back and forth, trying to hide the fact that he had been staring at her.

"No, I think we could make it to the next city. We could-," another voice abruptly cut through his talking.

"Good day visitors!" A loud and almost obnoxious man called to them. They turned their head away from each other and faced forward. Standing in front of them was a strange looking person. He wore a sturdy black suit, and a smile rested on his lips that made Eureka feel slightly uncomfortable. Something about the man was bothering her.

"Can we help you?" Eoin asked with a tight frown. Apparently he was getting the same vibe. The man laughed at the question.

"Actually, you can!" He whipped out a gun and pointed it at the both of them.

"What in the?!" Eoin was too surprised to speak clearly. When he started to open his mouth again, the man raised his gun.

"Shut it, just listen. I don't think you understand how large this problem is growing. Do you remember a man named Cill?" The name caused both Eoin and Eureka to look at each other. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, just so you know," he inclined his head mischievously, like he was in control of the entire situation, which when Eureka thought about it, might not be too far off from the truth, "he sent me to kill you both. I just so happen to be his second in command. Even though I don't travel with him, but we maintain contact. He told me about you two. It was quite a surprise when you just wound up on my grounds." For a brief second, Eureka studied the man. He was tall, most likely in his twenties. Curling back behind his head was dark brown hair. His eyes were a bright piercing blue. There was something else in his look that Eureka noticed. It had to do with his face, the way he looked at them. Somewhere in there she noticed a sense of command. This man knew what he was doing.

She broke away her gaze to search for hidden men. Shadows encased the windows too thickly to be sure. The situation was starting to look worse and worse.

"I owe you a name, mine is Heln." The smile turned into a smirk.

"Now Eoin!" Eureka whispered under her breath. He twisted his head in confusion, but it was too late. The bike she was riding sped forward. She had geared the motor to full speed. Raising her leg, she stabbed it into the man's chest. A force that powerful sent him spiraling through the air and crashing back down into the ground. But when Eureka had kicked him, she felt as if she had kicked a solid column of metal. It left her leg was thick with pain.

"Are you alright?" Eoin yelled as he drove up next to her. "That was a quick move."

"I'm fine," she yelled back to him. The pain in her leg was starting to build, making it hard to drive.

"Or not, we got a problem!" Eureka looked back to see three men chasing them with motorcycles as well. She quickly turned her head forward again.

"Let's take a turn here!" She pointed her finger at a small opening in the forest. It was coming fast, which meant she needed and answer faster.

"We don't know where that even leads?"

"I know, but we don't have a choice." As it approached them, she turned to the left. Trees were whipping by as she did so. The force of the turn sent a trickle of shrill in her body. It happened so fast that she was afraid she might be thrown off her bike. To her joy, she was still on. But when she looked forward, she was revealed to a trail of mayhem. Branches were hanging low from the trees. Bushes and rocks scattered about the path, threatening every decision that could be made. In desperation she twisted and turned to avoid them. There was only a split second for her to look back to see Eoin was following. A wave of relief flowed over her body to see that he was

"Eureka, look out!" His voice came alarmingly to her. She rushed to look forward, but it was already too late. The path took a sharp turn. With every possible bit of strength she could summon, she attempted to curve, but her destiny was already set. The rushing force sent her flying off her bike. She flew through the air and slammed against the rocky road. Pain violently spiked across her right leg. A scream fled from her lips as she tumbled and slammed against a tree.

Eoin watched in horror as it all happen. The bike toppled over and flung into the air. It barely slammed in front of Eureka, missing her by deathly lengths. He wasn't even sure if she was alive.

"Eureka!" He yelled while shutting off his bike. Adrenaline was charging his body. Rushing to help her, he shut off the motor and hopped off. When he reached her, it was increasingly obvious how bad the damage was. There was no way to tell if she was still alive.

---

Terina sat inside the lounge, by herself. There was little else she could do. No one chased them. Nothing needed fixing. Everything was settled. The only thing she could do was sit down and study some papers.

She lifted her head to see pure daylight shinning through the window. Days were becoming increasingly longer than she had suspected. Looking at the light only reminded her. No matter how she tried to let that absorb into her thoughts, the images kept flooding back. There slept Irik, on his medical bed, weak. She couldn't understand why the image wouldn't shake from her mind. It was thick and left a cold feeling in her chest.

"Terina?" A male voice called. She tore her head away from the papers and looked up. Standing right in front of her was a man she thought she hadn't seen for ages.

"Reck?" Her same question like voice answered back.

"What?" The man stood at average height, barely taller than her. His hair was a sleek red. Sitting bellow that were his multi-colored eyes. The left one was a solid blue, while the other was a dark purple. It stood out with the rest of his form.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh, of course." He laughed while pulling up the long sleeves of his white shirt. The edge of his tall collar only nudged slightly. "I've been having a lot of inspiration lately. You know." He smiled cheerily. Terina could only shake her head as she looked him up and down. Everything about him was the same except for the new blue jeans.

"Really, what have you done? Since you are our media development manager?"

"Not much. I've just been taking pictures and sending them to Stoner. Lately he's asked about Eureka's singing. He wants to know if she'll ever do another set. That really was a brilliant idea. I still can't get over the fact that she can sing. Or that I'm even on this ship." He sat down across from her.

"I know, what about that last song that was recorded?"

"That last one was beautiful, her best yet. Problem is, it's only one out of three new ones I have. I can't release a new track with only three songs. Why did she stop singing?" He sighed without hiding his disappointment.

"I guess she's just changed." Reck looked over at Terina. He frowned and took a closer curious look.

"I never really suspected you to say something like that."

"I know," she muttered back, letting herself get absorbed in her work again.

"Really?" Slipping his hand in his pocket, he popped out a pencil and notebook. Immediately after, he began writing. This didn't easily escape Terina's eye.

"Taking down more notes?" She asked while writing.

"I guess if I said no, then I would be lying."

"What could give you inspiration here?" Her hand stopped and she looked at him, a quizzical look in her eyes. Meanwhile, Reck started to write himself.

"I guess it truly depends on how you see inspiration, no?"

"Well… yeah."

"Then maybe I can't answer your question. At least not until I see through your eyes." Terina was left in utter confusion. She despised it when Reck spoke the way he did.

"Why don't you just give me a simple answer?" This time she gave him a look dull enough that not even paper could be cut by its tip.

"You." His simple reply came. Terina's head fell, defeated. "Don't worry, I'm done. What was it we were talking about before? I believe it was Eureka's singing, right?" Reck asked and stared at her. She continued to work without responding. After blinking out of confusion, he opened his mouth, "Terina?"

"Would you stop calling me that?" She demanded through irritation. Reck was left in a land of obliviousness.

"Call you what? You're name? Cause I can do that, if you want. I'll start calling you, you." He snippily replied back to her. She shook her head and dropped her pencil.

"No, just call me Rina. For the past five years no one has ever called me that." Her tone suddenly became tired. She rested her face in her hands. Reck tilted his land, feeling like he was being pushed deeper and deeper into the land of confusion.

"I'm sorry Ter-, I mean, Rina. But it's not like you've ever asked us to call you that." He admitted for her. Terina nodded her head.

"I know, I figured you guys would catch it on your own. Maybe I'm just not…" A paused followed her unfinished words.

"What?" Persisted Reck.

"Reck, can you please just leave me alone?" The request jolted a surprise look on his face. Terina couldn't tell whether it was pain or just plain surprise, probably both. Slowly he nodded and stood up from his chair.

"Sorry for bothering you, Rina." He turned around and left. Rina almost felt like jumping up and stopping him, but he already passed through the door. Once again she was left alone. In all her papers scattered about the table, she could only keep her mind on one thing.

"Why am I like this?" She begged herself for an answer. All the scattered papers on the table reminded her of her own thinking. It was all jumbled; she wasn't even sure what to do. Now all she had was the empty air to keep her company. And it was her own fault, she sadly knew.

---

"Eureka!" Once again Eoin yelled. He stopped and knelt down next to her. The damage was sure as she turned her over. Her right leg was soaked in a deep red blood. Holes and strips dashed across her clothing, exposing more wounds underneath. When he turned his eyes to her face, it felt like the very pain she was feeling drained into his own body. Her brows were tightly cringed together. She weakly raised a hand to grip her butchered leg, but Eoin shot out his hand to stop her.

"E…Eoin." She whispered in a voice too weak to even fight against the silence.

"We got to get moving, I know." He reached to hands under her and lifted her up. Doing so caused her to shake slightly. Pain was reaching itself all around her body. She actually turned in his arms and wrapped her own arms around him. Although the action helped him carry her, he was still surprised.

Before anymore time could be wasted, he dashed through the forest. Trees warbled by in short blurs. There was too much green to completely tell where they were going. In his arms bounced Eureka. She wrapped his arms tighter around him, as if trying to muffle the pain in her body. He attempted to adjust his arms, hoping to give more comfort. But speed was just fighting against them both.

Under his arm he could feel the blood beginning to soak his clothing. Her legs were slick and sticky, while the rest of her body just felt frail. It made him want to hold her closer, but he resisted. Doing so might cause even more damage.

Finally after running and running, they stopped. Eoin adjusted her in his arms and set her down on the ground. This gave him time to fully examine the damage. Across her sides striped several gashes. Two more cuts traveled along her right arm. Then he shifted his eyes towards her legs. To his relief, only one was severely damaged. The other was in perfect shape. His eyes turned to her face, which was also in good condition. There was only a soft bruise on her left cheek.

"Eureka, how are you feeling?" The question was rather dumb when he thought about it, but it already to late. And to him, it seemed like the right question to ask.

Eureka gently lifted her eyelids open. It was obvious to see how much pain she was feeling.

"I'm… alright." She whispered.

"No, you're not alright!" Through aggravation he almost yelled back. "I need you to stand still while I do this. I also want you to take these two pills. One is a pain reliever, while the other should help fight infections." He reached into his back pack and pulled out two small spheres. Plopping them into Eureka's mouth, she swallowed.

Work then started on mending her leg. He rolled up her long sleeves and washed off the blood with water bottles. Carefully he poured alcohol on the wounds, which caused her to flinch in pain. When he was satisfied, he bandaged the wound. The same process was used for her legs. She cringed then, feeling as if some one were stabbing burning needles into her tender skin. But for her, this pain was nothing to what she had felt before. Physical pain was only a single snow flake compared to the hurricane that emotional pain was. She knew this all too well after her true love's death.

"No, just pour the alcohol and bandage it." Eureka weakly insisted as Eoin reached for her waste. He paused and frowned at her.

"I need to thoroughly clean those wounds, Eureka." He continued, but she tightly gripped his arms.

"No, just do what I ask."

"Why?" She shifted her back against the tree, knowing the answer remained there. She didn't wish to reveal one of her prized secrets that she hid on her back.

"Please, Eoin, just do it." Eoin hesitated for a long period of time. He wasn't sure whether or not to follow her request. Only after a few more moments of nothing, he nodded. Eureka sighed in relief and actually smiled. The emotion on her face utterly confused him, but he followed anyway. He poured the alcohol and wrapped the cloth around her waste, clothing and all.

"I don't know if that will stop the bleeding there, but your arm and leg should be fine."

"Then let's go." She started to stand up. Eoin immediately stood up to sustain her imbalance.

"No, we'll have to stay here for a while. You're way too weak for this." He urged her to sit back down, but she resisted.

"Look at where we came from." Weakly she pointed her finger. He followed the direction to see a trail of blood along the dead leaves.

"But you can't make it on your own." Eureka looked off to the side, thinking. She turned back and stared directly into his eyes. A sense of determination was thick enough in her face to touch.

"Than help me." She held out her arm to him. He looked down at it, then nodded. He moved forward and placed himself as her crutch.

"Where should we go?" Eoin asked her. The forest was crowded with trees. As Eureka carefully studied the options, she realized there was little choice.

"I'm not sure where we are. Do you know?" Her question only received a shake of the head. Voices were starting to drift in from the distance. They were coming.

"Let's just run, will you be alright?" Eureka nodded her head at him. To make sure for himself, he gave her a once over. The blood on her bandage bloomed like a flower as it spread. He realized it might already need replacing.

Lifting his head, he examined her face. Her eyes were closed out fatigue. Gently falling around it was her thick silky hair. It reminded him some how of a pouring ocean. He then turned his head and shook the thought.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's go."

They started to move forward. Roots poked and jammed their feet. Eureka was constantly finding support through Eoin. The terrain was too difficult to handle for her battered leg. Eventually Eoing gave up and stopped.

"Eureka, we're going too slow. It won't take them long to catch up with us. So, I think it would be a lot faster if you just let me," he paused and looked away hesitantly, "carry you." Eureka blinked as her eyes turned wide. She felt herself looking away unsurely.

"I…" She started roughly. The idea seemed a little strange to her, but Eoin had a good point. So at last she bent her legs and nodded at him. Speaking an answer felt a little too difficult at the moment, having sheer surprise pile down any words.

Eoin turned around and spread his arms out. Eureka put her legs around his waste, allowing him to hold them in between in arms. She then fastened her arms around his neck.

"Ready?" He asked her. She nodded. "Just hold on. You sure this won't hurt your leg?" Once again, she nodded.

At last, Eoin burst forward into long sprints. Eureka's eyes remained wide as she bounced up and down. Green sped by like a shifting river at their sides. For a second she could feel the leaves fluttering against her skin. Eoin was incredibly fast, she couldn't help but notice.

"Are you alright?" Eureka could tell how tired he was through his gasping voice.

"I'm fine." She calmly replied. They continued to run past the trees. Eureka studied the sky above them. Cracks in the leaves barely shined light from the sun. They revealed to her that sunset was approaching.

"I'll run a little longer." His voice cracked. She held him a little tighter, hoping to stabilize and make it easier for him to carry her. But at the same time, she had never felt this close to him before.

---

"Terina!" Ostler's voice sounded throughout the command room. Terina twisted around in her seat to see him standing on the balcony.

"What is it?" She noticed a small but gernous smile on his face.

"I have a solution, follow me." With that he turned around and left. It finally occurred to her that it might have been good news.

She caught up to him and they walked down the hall in complete silence. Several times Terina felt the urge to burst out a question, but she remained silent.

"Now that I have my breath." His voice came as smooth at it had ever been. He was the kind of man that was touched with a voice of wisdom. Terina couldn't stop from noticing this every time he talked. "I was doing study on the bacteria, and couldn't find any safe ways of removing it… until I thought of another idea. How much do you know of the Inverse Drive?"

"Almost everything. Irik let me look over his designs. The device is a genius machine, but why?" She had to know.

"Trapar has very odd effects on the brain, possibly dangerous. Take for example the hundreds of S.U. pilots that have died. After a while the brain starts to completely depend on the device, or so I've studied." He smiled and continued walking.

"Wait, are you saying that the Inverse Drive actually destroys the brain? I knew it caused damage, but I didn't know that it shut it down to the point where it didn't operate with out the Inverse Drive."

"Oh, it exceeds even beyond that, my dear. The Inverse Drive literally causes the brain to become completely useless, to the point where the inverse drive has no more effect, though they have made sufficient improvements from the past. I left the U.F. before I had the chance to truly confirm it. This is where I get my idea." Terina suddenly pulled all her attention to him. What ever was about to come from his lips couldn't be missed. "I've done other studies on the effects of manipulated trapar." Stopping, he faced Terina. "I've learned that the device is capable of destroying certain kinds of organic material. Don't assume it kills brain cells, skin, or other such things. It could if used inappropriately. But if you were to amplify the signals at certain points and concentrate it. You could avoid major damage, even minor damage, while completely removing let's say… something like a bacteria?" The emotion didn't change on his face at all, but Terina fully picked up on what he was saying. A smile uplifted itself on her lips as excitement stared to boil throughout her body.

"What do you need?"

"I've already altered a Compac testing console. All I need now is an Inverse Drive. Would to be so kind as you provide me with one?" Terina instantly turned around and shot off, without another word. Ostler stood and watched her go. The smile on his face twisted just barely wider.

Door after door she passed. Her only hope now was to find the one thing that could help Irik. One caught her eye and her tremendous speed almost sent her toppling over as she stopped. But instead she used the force to rip the door open.

She quickly dashed into the room that belonged to Irik. First her eyes scanned the shelves, hoping that Irik might have left an inverse drive among his many gadgets. To her luck, there was one. She could tell by the dim sphere that latched to the top. Without wasting another minute, she snatched it. At last her hopes were looking up. It might be possible to turn the mood of the whole ship around.

Ostler was patiently waiting his in office as Terina burst through the door. He looked up with little surprise on his face. As far as Terina could tell, he had been expecting her no sooner.

The silent but knowing doctor stood up and took the device from her hands. With no attempt to communicate, he placed the device inside a large white machine. It now stuck out of a long crane like appendage. He moved to the back of the machine where a small console paneled out. Few screens were on the panel, but she assumed enough.

Everything as far as Terina could tell seemed to be settled. The doctor moved the device forward until it was just over Irik's head. When he clicked a few buttons, the Inverse Drive began to glow a deep purple.

"Alright Terina, I'm about to begin. I hope you would understand if I asked you to leave, please. When the operation is done, I'll call you back." He smiled and shifted his eyes to the door. It was an obvious motion for her to leave. Having little choice, she did so. The door shut behind her with soft swooping sound. It echoed inside her thoughts over and over. Her mind was at a lost. All the excitement had gotten to her, and now all she could do was stand and look at the floor. She couldn't even remember what she was doing before Ostler had called. The only she could think of was one word. That word was hope.

---

The ground felt like it was pushing up against him, rather then he pushing against the ground. Eoin was still slowly walking through the forest. Sunset was already gone, with only the twilight to give him site. Resting on his aching back was Eureka. Or at least he thought it was aching. After running and walking for three hours, he could no longer tell. The pain had eventually gone numb. Which was both a relief and a strain.

Gently he turned and leaned back to set eureka against a tree. Once done, he turned to his own tree to rest against.

"Eureka?" He called in a dry rough voice. No response came. Getting up, he walked over. It seemed to dark to tell, so he placed his head in front of her mouth. A wave relief washed over his body as he sighed. Her mouth was quietly inhaling and exhaling air. For reasons he could not understand, it brought him a great comfort. She was still alive.

He bent his head down and gave her one last once over. Dark red spot speckled the bandage on her right arm, while her sides were almost completely soaked. His eyes then stopped at her right leg. It was purely drenched in damp blood. He placed his hand on the battered limb.

"Still damp? No good. That means it hasn't fully clotted. Dang it," he grunted as he searched for solutions. His body felt oddly light, but his mind and eyes were lulling heavily, almost making it impossible to think. Only adding to all the pain was the dryness in his throat. He felt like a single drop of water could crackle its hard surface.

But that was slowly being ignored. Fatigue and aches couldn't be anything compared to what Eureka was feeling. After seeing the tremendous speed that sent her flying off the bike, he could get it out of his head. She looked like a rag doll slamming against the ground, red marks appearing all around her body. Even though she made no complaint, something must have been broken. There was no way she should have survived that crash. Yet, here before his eyes, he witnessed a live being.

"I have to replace this bandage. Stop infections from happening." His voice was loosing strength. He wondered how much longer he could keep himself awake. Slipping his hand into his backpack, he pulled out a few items. Among these items were two water bottles, alcohol, and bandages.

He reached down and began to peel off the bandage that wrapped around her leg. It made a small sticky sound as it pulled away. The sound would have probably sent his skin crawling, but he was too tired to experiences anything. So he opened a water bottle and poured it over the wound. Following after that were a few doses of alcohol on the skin. Before long he had already wrapped the leg in a clean new bandage.

"Now all I need to do is fix her sides. But how am I?" He squinted and looked down at her bloodied stomach. There was little else to find but see how much she had been damaged. When he started to reach for her sides, he noticed something else. "No," muttered his aching throat. The place that had held his bandages was left empty. "No more bandages… and we only have one last water bottle. I can't let it go to waste, but," Hesitantly he picked it up and unscrewed the cap. His hands were shaking from fatigue as he lifted the tip. When it touched his lips, he stopped and lowered it back down again.

"I can't do that… She needs it more. But… If I don't get any water either." He looked between Eureka and the bottle. Finally he lifted it and took only a few sips. Then very carefully he lifted it to her lips.

"What?" Her voice came through dryly.

"Take some water, you'll need it." She nodded and sipped as the water ran down her tongue and into her throat. Shortly after, she started coughing. Eoin quickly pulled the bottle away.

"Too much," she weakly whispered. He nodded and capped the bottle. Only half the water was left. Every last drop had just become as precious as gold.

"We're almost out of water," his voice sounded in the silent forest. Lifting his head to Eureka, he could already see she was asleep. "It's best if I get sleep too." He stood up and walked over to the tree. Bark rubbed against his back as he leaned down against it. The pain was futile, with no effect at all. Everything in that day had left his entire body feeling numb. He only hoped that with tomorrow new hopes would arise.

One last time his eyes drifted open to see Eureka. Her eyes were closed, and there resting in her face was a sense of peace. She looked calmer then he had ever seen her before. His eyes then moved to her hair. It lifted and fell in short curves as the wind past. The moon reflected against its teal tint brightly. He couldn't help but feel reminded of something.

"Coral… Why that?" He muttered as his eyes drifted closed. "Why do you make me feel this way?"

---

Beeping was the first thing he heard. Irik's eyes slowly opened to the rest of the room.

"Where am I?" He mouthed more than he voiced. To his side he saw a fairly large device. Planted from its crane like extension was an inverse drive.

"Interesting, isn't it?" An elderly man's voice sounded from his other side. He blinked his tired eyes and sat up. "Slow down, you'll be alright." The man kindly urged. Irik turned in his bed, and to his relief, he found Ostler sitting next to him.

"What happened, why am I here?" A thick pulsing pain stung inside his head. He lifted his hand and touched it, but there was nothing to feel but skin.

"Looks like you've picked up a new kind of disease, Irik. I'm impressed, I've never seen one like it before."

"A new disease?" The way Ostler had worded it, he felt like he should be proud. But the pulsing in his head told him otherwise. He sighed while dropping his hand to his lap.

"Yes, it apparently affects the brain. Odd though, from what I can tell, it didn't do any damage. Or at least that is mostly true." He gave Irik a once over. "You are here that is."

"That's safe to assume." Irik nodded while looking over his current condition. "How long have I been here?"

"Quite a long time. Your condition was pretty severe before I used the machine. Clever little device I made."

"You made this?" Irik pointed his thumb at the machine holding the Inverse Drive.

"Yes, it just allows me to manipulate the trapar around your head. Being that there is a mind within the vicinity does help. The head is the only way I can use the device." Slipping across his face was a kind but strange smile. Irik knew it was just the natural Ostler.

"I think I understand what you are saying. Since the Inverse Drive manipulates the connection between the brain and the drive, you were able to slightly manipulate the signal using a compact tuner?"

"Yes, the trapar around your brain was set on a higher frequency. I was able to set it just high enough to kill off the bacteria, but low enough to avoid damage."

"What about cells?" Irik frowned, suddenly feeling a jolt of worry shoot through his body. He gripped his head and closed his eyes, considering equations, ideas, memories, anything that should still be there. In the meantime, Ostler was just sitting and staring at Irik with an amused look.

"Yes Irik, it's true, you have lost over hundreds of brain cells. Forgive me, I did the best I could." Irik almost jumped out of his bed at Ostler words.

"What, no, you can't mean that I?" His lips were quivering silently. Ostler shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

"I was just joking, Irik. The effect of the trapar had absolutely no damage to the cells. I carefully studied the machine before I used it. Or at least you better hope I did." Ostler turned back in his seat to his computer.

"Thanks Ostler, I guess I owe you one." Irik said in a tone that didn't sound as grateful as it did disgruntled.

"Of course Irik," his remark came right back. Seeing that he had nothing else to say, Irik fell back into his bed. The sound of beeps and loading computers was a comfort to his ears. Computers were his place of relaxation. It was a place in the world that he had control and known.

"Oh, by the way Irik. You've been out for several days now. Nothing to be worried about," Ostler kindly commented. Irik nodded and decided to rest, but then a thought hit him and his eyes turned wide.

"Wait, what have you found on Eureka?" He asked faster then the mouth should be able to produce. His question received a sigh from Ostler. The man turned in his seat, faced Irik, and shared a smile of kind pity. It was one of the few looks he hated from doctors. Already his question was answered before words were even spoken.

"Nothing." The answer was as suspected as Irik had thought. He nodded and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Ostler, I do owe you a great deal. If I ever do find I way, I will repay you." Irik said in complete seriousness. Ostler only replied with a nod.

"It's is my job, Irik. As long as I am paid aboard this ship, then I have no problem. Besides, it's been fun thus far." He stopped and quickly shared a smile before returning to his work.

Irik lied on the bed and let his mind be consumed in thought. The past few days were without memory, that much he knew. But one thing seemed clear now. There were things he still needed to do. The Night Iris was still thriving and could make a difference. He knew now that he needed to remove thoughts of the past. Then again, he felt that things would have been much easier with Eureka. Somehow she had burst from the thoughts of Renton, and stand to reinstate the Gekko-Go after Holland had disbanded it seven years before. He couldn't believe that just the day before, Eureka was still sulking in despair. What if, he started to wonder, if Eureka had never forgotten about Renton? It would have explained a lot of things about her. With Kess she acted completely different then when at work. She wouldn't act like the same person for a full day, which bothered him. But there was nothing he could do.

"I think it's a time to change." Irik said aloud all of the sudden. Ostler raised his head and turned to him curiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked, intrigue frowning at his eyes.

"It's true that the Night Iris is not the same without Eureka. But she isn't here, and we have to accept that. Isn't that right, Ostler?" Irik faced him with a look that held serious determination. An expression of surprise immediately took Ostlers face. After a moment of silence, the other man smiled and nodded.

"Didn't really believe people changed in their sleep." The elder man chuckled and pulled of his glasses off. His laughs caused Irik to frown in confusion. Too many times before had Irik seen Ostler crack a joke, smile, or grin, but never laugh. This was the first time he had ever heard the man's laugh. It was almost refreshing.

"You… laughed?" Irik almost coughed in utter surprise.

"Yes, is it really that surprising? I maybe a doctor, Irik, but there are things that I cannot heal. I wouldn't really say it's here," he lifted his finger at Irik's head, "But rather here," his finger pointed back down to his chest. At first Irik was confused. From the mind to the chest, it made no sense to him.

The confusion was easily picked up from Ostler.

"Irik, you're too technical." The man folded his arms while shaking his head.

"What do you mean?"

"You've had a change in yourself. That's a heeling effect that I have little affect over. It's under your own control Irik, and you've proven me wrong."

"Wait… what do you mean?" He questioned again.

"I've been proven wrong, simple as that, Irik. You'll be ready to move in the next two days. Today I would prefer you have no visitors. Do you not mind?" Ostler leaned back in his seat while waiting for an answer. Irik was still frowning at him, searching for some sort of answer in Ostler face, although he himself knew that that was almost impossible. Ostler was the kind of man who could hide his true intent like another man could a star among the stars, leaving others at a lost while the star was sought

"Do I mind if I have no visitors?" Slowly his answer came. Ostler nodded, amused. "No, I'm fine. Still, what do you mean?" Once again the elder man shook his head and turned to his work. Irik sighed and rolled his eyes. He then leaned back down in his bed. "I'll figure it out. You've never considered that I'm not as technical as you might think. I'm very capable of finding the answers where ever they may be. Even if they don't fall under my logical thinking." He calmly but defiantly announced to Ostler. The man didn't even turn in his seat, just continued working. A sigh emitted from Irik's lips, almost giving up.A change of mind, he thought while patting his head. Then he padded his chest and wondered what Ostler meant, a change of what?

---

**Q.A.A.N.: **

Hmmm, can't say I'm not a little sad. So few reviews? Nonetheless, I'm also extremely happy. Thanks to those who did review, those who even thought of reviewing! Cause I think I heard some where that it's the thought that counts. But if that were the case, then there would be a lot of mass murders in the world. Accused of only thinking… Seriously though, thanks guys for reading. I hope my writing has been approving, because I _think_ it has. I'm pretty confident that it has, I mean, just compare it to the first chapter of E7: Corrupted Hopes.

Anyway, I've allowed anonymous reviews. Thank you to the person who told me that it was off, that would be SworldOfLightBladeOfDarkness. I kind of thought it was automatically allowed. I think that will make it a lot easier for people to review. So thanks again, I owe you one.

Last but not least. The email was kasterrevised yahoo . com. Go ahead and have fun with that, Artisen. Sorry that it glitched last chapter.

Well, I hope my stories are improving. I'm trying the best that I am able… Then again, I could probably try a little harder. But hey, thanks for reviewing.


	8. Chapter 8: Here at Last

_**Chapter 8: Here at Last**_

**Here it is at last. I'm afraid the title does have double meaning, both with the chapter and the… well, the long wait.**

**Thanks for the encouragement, complements, and ideas. Really though, thanks for all that have reviewed my story, and those that have read. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, for all those that have waited.**

The cold chilling air pressed against Eureka's skin. She shivered as she shifted her weight against the tree. A sharp pain shot through her leg as she did so, but not nearly as painful as it had once been.

Looking around, she spotted Eoin sitting at a tree opposite of her. His head was tilted back with his mouth lying barely open.

"What time is it?" She muttered and wrapped her arms around her freezing and stinging stomach. The cold was almost unbearable. Lifting her head to the sky, she saw the sun had risen not too long ago.

"Eureka?" Her head turned to the voice, Eoin had awakened.

"Yes?" When she spoke, her words came through dryly, crackling inside her throat. She held her neck as the pain cycled in sharp stings. It finally stopped after a few moments.

"Are you alright." He stood up and almost wobbled back down again, but he managed to maintain balance. After a moment of stretching, he walked of to her and knelt down. Instead of speaking, Eureka simply nodded. "Then we should get moving. Here." His hands dug into the remnants of his backpack and pulled out a half empty bottle. The site of it was already refreshing to Eureka's eyes. Eoin handed her the bottle, in which she raised it and carefully drank another half down. He then took it back and stuffed it into the pack back.

"How much water do we have left?" Her voice was clearer, much clearer than before.

"Not much, we're almost completely drained. We'll have to look for more water sources. I've saved all our water bottles. So when we find a source, we should be alright. In less we some how managed to find a city… which is very slim." He sighed and rested his face in his hands. Eureka felt the need to do more, but instead she stared at him silently. "Can you walk?" He asked after a long pause. Her hesitation proved otherwise, but she nodded.

Gingerly she took his hand and stood up. After getting her footing, she walked around, trying to maintain her balance. He could only watch her circle until she stopped and nodded to herself.

"Yes, I can move now," came her careful response, thinking about it before saying it.

"Ok, let's go." They started forward, slowly. Eoin made sure to be right next to her with every step. If she was to fall, he would catch her.

The air was causing Eureka's legs to shiver tenderly. They had walked for what she thought was a good few miles. But her sides bothered her the most. Every step felt as if hot pikes were being shoved into them. She couldn't stand the feeling, barely keeping herself from flinching.

"We're walking through this forest blindly. We don't even know where we are." Eoin's agitated voice sounded.

"What else can we do?" She calmly countered. The question forced him to think more carefully.

"We can't walk back… I know, we're lost." His head fell on the verge of defeat.

"Wait, Eoin." She coughed and almost fell back, but Eoin caught her before it could happen. There they stood in the middle of the forest until her strength returned.

"What?" He asked her with softer tone.

"Over there, look." Her breath was quick as she spoke. He followed her gaze to find a curious shape sticking out of the trees. The design was indefinable at first, but then it revealed it itself. It was the back of a small building.

"Yes, we have found something!" He anxiously surged as he was about to charge forward. But just as his foot left the ground, Eureka fell. While falling, Eoin twisted around and attempted to catch her, but missed the chance. She hopelessly clattered against the ground. "Eureka!?" There was a single spec of hesitation as he knelt down next to her.

"The pain," was all she could voice. Her arms tightly wrapped around her stomach, now he understood. Not letting a single second pass more, his arms thrust beneath her and lifted her off the ground. Sweat was making her skin slick. He noticed small drops of liquid falling from her squeezing shut eyes. What ever she was feeling, he knew couldn't feel like anything he had felt before.

"Hold on Eureka, I'll get you help." A look of determination shook inside his valiant eyes.

He launched forward and headed off to the structure. When he rounded its mossy back, he found that the house was poorly build. The panels were drenched and had an odd color of mildew. Hanging at the front was a door, which appeared to wobble within its own frame. Hesitantly he approached it before even considering opening it. His hopes for Eureka were somewhere inside there. When his hand pulled open the door, the only thing to welcome his site was an empty room. Dread gripped his body for a brief moment, but quickly faded.

"Dang it… Nothing," he grunted under his breath. No sooner did anger creep into its wake. "Why is this happening… why have I allowed myself to be trapped in this situation." He could no longer hold back the building anger. It slowly rose above the sounds of critters and whistle that filled the forest. "Why am I going against my original plan to capture her." His eyes fell down on the girl in his arms. The anguish on her face leaked into his own body. "Why do I feel this, why do I even care!?" The fury in his voice exploded, sending the birds in their perches into a fluttering mass. Scrapes, cracks, and all varieties of sounds fled from the income of irritation.

Stopping at the motion, he glanced around the forest. Everything was silent, reminding him the full blown reality of their situation.

"And there is no one else here except for us!" His voice exploded again.

"I beg to differ," a rather dull and irritated voice called from behind. Eoin whipped around to see a man no younger than he was. This man stood at a slightly smaller height, with black hair scrapping across the tips of his brows.

Eoin was left speechless at the site. The man took this opportunity to continue, "As you can tell, there are plenty of other beings here. Take me for example." His head shook back and forth with contempt.

"I," he attempted, but the words seemed to fail him.

"Yes, fascinating I'm sure, but it looks like you have problems of your own." The man glanced at the battered Eureka. Eoin stood for a few seconds. His mind slowly processed what was happening while the man walked away.

"Wait!" He yelled and dashed after him. The man didn't stop until Eoin had completely blocked his path.

"Polite I've noticed," sarcasm rang. Eoin tossed aside the comment.

"Listen, you have to help me. We've been stranded in this forest for a day or so now. And we had a run in with… A rough animal," he frowned at his own words, wondering if they sounded likely.

The man briefly rolled his eyes, "What's her condition?"

"She has a few cuts on her sides, legs, and right arm. That's as far as I am able to get with her."

"Oh really? That about defines everything I need to know. Have you treated the wounds? Are they properly cleaned? Because if you hadn't told me about the sides, legs, and arm, I would have never been able to tell with the blood gapping all about her cloths." The man shook his arms at Eureka. His absolute rudeness was driving Eoin mad. The last thing Eoin wanted to deal with was an arrogant idiot unwilling to help two people in need. It didn't help that his entire body was aching with pain, both from lack of rest and a prolonged run.

"Look, I'm sick and tired of running into idiots," he barely resisted the urge to grab his gun. "This whole journey has been prolonged since she has been with me. No matter what it was, we had to stop and help those who were in need. This might have never happened if we had just continued with out journey off this continent!" The anger in his voice was slowly gaining energy. "And I wouldn't hesitate to-,"

"Eoin," a small, weak voice broke him off from talking. It was the only voice that could have stopped him.

As he twisted his head down, he saw Eureka staring back up at him. Her eyes held the rest of the words she was unable to speak. The look quickly reminded him that this wasn't the time to fight or get angry. They were stranded, and even if it was the scum of the earth, they needed to side with whatever was going to get them out.

"I'm sorry," he managed to say, barely. Though, it wasn't to the man, but rather the girl staring up at him. After one last moment, her eyes began to drift and she was gone again.

"As you should be. If that is all you're going to say, I'll take my leave," the man stood strait and stared down at the girl in Eoin's arms. When he got a good look at her face, he froze. "What in the-," he stuttered to get out. Eoin noticed this wave of surprise. He followed the man's gaze to Eureka in his arms.

"What is it?"

"How… Why would," the man lost all arrogance and looked back up at Eoin, then back down at Eureka. "Set her on the ground." Carelessly he pointed at a spot. A frown submerged Eoin's face, surprised at this new act of kindness. Even though a sense of pride was still found in the man's appearance.

"Why are you suddenly deciding to help us?" He knew it was a dangerous question to ask. Offending the man would be a bad move, now that he had finally decided to help. But the odd reaction to seeing Eureka, and deciding to finally help, left a question that couldn't be ignored.

"Do you want my help, or should I just pack up and leave?"

"No, please help. I'm sorry,' he slowly spoke.

"Good, I'll check her condition. You're lucky you wandered into this part of the woods. My name is Fin Aletor, a doctor for the U.F.. Or at least, could have been." This time the rudeness had completely vanished all together. But just as Eoin attempted to break in another question, Fin cut him off. "For now I need time to work. This may take quite a while to complete. It depends how much damage has been done," forcefully he told Eoin, as if demanding him to keep silent. Eoin almost opened his mouth to say otherwise, but decidedly remained silent.

Fin was definitely a man Eoin hadn't met before. And so far, he didn't like him. Everything the man said had a touch of arrogance or annoyance. The man had little to show of kindness. It bothered Eoin that this man was their last chance of getting out of the forest.

Briefly he detoured his thoughts and glanced at Fin. The man was peeling away Eureka's bandages, releasing a sickening crackly sound that buried deep into his stomach. He forced his vision away and sat down against a tree. The tree appeared to swallow around the underside of his body. He couldn't remember anything that felt more comfortable. But as he sat, he couldn't understand why his eyes refused to look at her, many times before he had seen the same incident. In times of war, it was hard to avoid such sites. But for some reason Eureka was different. Whenever he saw her in that state of torture, he couldn't stand to look.

"What's going on…" he muttered under his breath and rested his face in his hands. So many things were twisting in his head, and he couldn't shake any of them. All he wished to know was how to understand the feeling inside him. Every time he looked at Eureka, he felt something, a small something. The more he tried to understand, the less it seemed to come. Eureka was becoming more and more of mystery to him. There were two sides of her he could see. He wanted to understand both, but that just seemed too impossible. Even with the twisting emotions, he still hoped she would be alright.

Time continued to pass along. Brief moments passed where he felt like looking back, but stopped before he caught an unsettling site.

Turning his head forward, fatigue began to pull at his mind. His head fell and quickly rose again. The tips of his eyelids came together, and he attempted to force them open. But in the end, he felt his mind fall away. Darkness filled the gaps of his head. For that brief moment he felt thoughtless. It was refreshing at first, but oddly chilling at the same time. Immediately after, the darkness seemed to lift like a black mist. Now surrounding him was a site he wished never to see again. Under his feet was a medium sized KLF, his own. It was covered with scratches and gashes, no spot left untouched. When he lifted his head again, the whole area was covered with a similar site. KLFs scattered across the field, both U.F. and P.O.F.. Metallic scraps accompanied the bare room in between each one.

Lifting his head to the sky, he saw deep shade of purple. This was something he didn't remember. It was too surreal. Right after, the site filled with another sensation, smoke. The gaseous smell flooded into his lungs, clawing at his throat like fiery pikes. He stumbled off the KLF at the pain. His feet then seemed to take on a mind of its own. The stumble turned into a mad run. A desperate feeling grabbed at his body, so suddenly that he felt like writhing. But he couldn't, he wasn't sure why, but he knew he couldn't.

While running, he slowly recalled why. This was the day he lost one of his closest friends. Now he remembered why he needed to reach the KLF in front of him. When it was close enough, he leapt into the air and latched onto its battered form. He climbed up the heap until the cockpit was within his grasp. It only took one hand to work with the emergency open lever.

"Hold on Rick, I'm almost here," his voice echoed throughout the battlefield. The door hatch flipped open, almost hitting him in the head. He was just about to reach inside before he came to a head stop. What was inside wasn't something he had suspected to find, he wasn't sure he could even call it human anymore.

A sheer amount of energy fell from his body. He stumbled back and stared at the unruly site. There was nothing he could do but stare.

"Rick, I'm sorry." He attempted to close his eyes, but no shielding came. It felt as if they had closed, yet, he could see right through them. "That's right," he chuckled, "this is only a dream, just a dream. It was because of this that I got use to battle, this smell." His hand raised and patted the outside of his chest. Fire burned inside it uselessly. The feeling and pain had long sensed numbed, and he hated it. Battle was something he never wanted to get used to, but that was an impossible goal for a soldier. He was forced to embrace the pain, the sorrow, the loss.

His head turned to stare back out to the battle field. All of the metal and scraps started to shift and turn. It was almost as if he was staring out into a grand ocean of red and blue.

Blinking, he attempted to get a grip on what he was seeing. The gnashing ocean suddenly shot up into the air, roaring and shaking the world around it. It towered over Eoin, ready to crash down and crush him into nothing. One simple vibration sent the hairs on his arm curling. He twisted around in some hopes of finding escape. All he found was the field of metal melting into a goopy lake. It plopped and slurped as it too rose into the air as well. Both waves swallowed up the last bit of the beautiful sky. But just before the last spec of light disappeared, he thought he saw something small and beautiful. For a second, he thought he saw an eye, and it was gone. The shadows of the ocean coolly swept over his shivering skin.

"W-what's going on?" He looked out in despair, seeing no escape from the massive waves that would crush him. This time when he closed his eyes, the world turned to nothing. But it did little against the screaming power that hung above his head.

"Eoin?" A sweet voice drifted into his ears. It felt like a calm, gentle wind that brushed away the sounds of destruction. Following it was a soft stroke at the cheek. His eyes shot open again to see what it was.

"Eoin?" This time the voice was male, when he was sure the other was female.

He was back against the tall gray tree. Swiftly he turned around to see Fin standing over Eureka. He wasn't close enough to have touched him, and the voice wasn't anything similar. If that was true, then he wondered what that impression was on his cheek.

"Yes?" Eoin asked.

"I'm done, but we have a problem." Fin pointed a finger at Eureka. She was sleeping peacefully, now wrapped up in clean new bandages. Eoin took a brief moment to shake off the thoughts of the dream he had. It felt too real for comfort.

"What is it?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Her wounds are doing exceptionally well, but she is revealing odd symptoms. Come here for a moment so that I may show you." The man lazily beckoned with his hand. Eoin stood up and knelt down next to them. "Her head is warm, and her skin is pale-,"

"Her skin is always that pale."

"Oh, I figured that may be the case. It's odd, but not sickening. I assume she doesn't get out in the sun much?" Eoin replied with a shrug, in which Fin sighed in annoyance. "Well then, I guess we're moving on to simple answers. I think she may have a fever. But that's it, the wounds have no infections whatsoever."

"A fever? But if her wounds are clean, then-,"

"It's possible that she might have attracted something. Or her immune system simply lowered its defense in order to work on healing her wounds, allowing some bacteria to emerge. I can't tell you what it fully is, I don't have the equipment. What I can tell you is that she's sick, and it may get worse, a lot worse."

"Worse in what way?"

"I'm not sure, some people react differently to different sicknesses. There just isn't enough symptoms to say. Stop asking such stupid questions." The man grumbled and stood up. Eoin couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth.

"Well how would I know certain things like that?" He spat back.

"We should get moving. There is a certain plant around here that might hold the cure." The arrogant doctor took no notice to Eoin's comment. Rolling his eyes, Eoin pushed aside his pride and picked Eureka off the ground.

"There where are we going?"

"How should I know? The plant is peculiar in the way it grows. There are times where I have found it growing along the side of a river, and other times where it was nestled between two trees. It's also fairly rare from what I've seen, follow along." Yet again the man waved his hand at Eoin like he was some slave.

"I've never dealt with such an arrogant man," he muttered beneath his breath.

"And I've never dealt with complete idiot before," came the other man's reply, half minding his words. Eoin glared, but followed pursuit anyway. Whoever the man was, he wasn't going to let him get away without a few question first. Through his disparity of help, Eoin hadn't considered who this man even was. Whether he could be trusted or not was still uncertain. But what bothered him most was that he was U.F., and here. The coincidence of their past encounters did not leave Eoin's nerves at ease. Especially with the gang that had been pursuing them previously.

Even so, Eoin realized that this man was their last hope for survival. He turned his back on instinct and continued to follow. Struggling to ignore the Arrogant U.F. Doctor he now followed.

---

"How does it feel?" Dominique continued as Irik lay on the medical bed. They were both inside the infirmary, only accompanied by the many beeps and blips of the computers that surrounded them. Irik sighed, getting sick of the very sound. He hoped that in the end he would not be traumatized by such an experience.

"It feels fine, just a little numb. I've also been having a hard time trying to reorganize my thoughts. I think it might be a side effect from the treatment."

"Or maybe you're thinking too much." Dominique leaned back in his roller chair while giving Irik an odd knowing look.

"What do you mean?" He truly had no idea.

"You're not even sure where to start looking. Now that the Xellien has returned, along with that strange black LFO, you've lost all chances of finding Eureka. You have no idea what you're supposed to do, yet, it is up to you as to what to do. The destiny of this ship is in your hands, Irik." Dominique spoke with absolute calm. Irik was bothered by how much of what he said was absolutely true.

He was then led to ask his own question, "Why are you still here Dominique? You were planning to leave a long time ago."

"I was planning to leave, but Anemone stopped me. She had a strange feeling that our two ships should stick together. You know as well as I do that I trust my wife's instinct more then I trust myself. Though, I also believe she wishes to stay on the account of Kess. That poor girl was heading down hill after Eureka's disappearance."

"I know."

"Still, Irik, I have a question to ask you. You're feelings for Eureka have not changed, have they?" The question was so completely random, that Irik began coughing on his own breath.

"What within this very world brought up a question like that?"

"Irik, how long did you think Artisen would keep his mouth shut?"

"Well I-," for a brief moment he paused and considered the question. "I doubt more than a few seconds," he said in all frankness.

"Yes, the news didn't take very long to get to us." Irik noticed a smile curling on Dominique's lips, but it faded and he reassumed eye contact with Irik. "Answer the question." Irik sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It was a long time ago."

"Emotions do have a habit of lasting forever, sometimes till death. I was lucky enough to find one who felt the same way. But as I heard, this was not the case for you."

"Yes, she didn't feel the same way."

"At least you had the guts to admit it to her. I have to admit, Irik, I was surprised to hear this about you."

"What do you mean by that?" Irik cocked a brow with agitation.

"Irik, I know who you are, don't try to act as if you were someone else." Hesitantly, Irik nodded.

"I was sick of being myself. So I attempted to change, and she was my first goal. Or what I mean by that is, my first goal was to admit how I felt."

"So is that why you liked her, because she was a goal?" Dominique frowned with suspicion.

"No, that's not what I meant at all."

"Then what was it about her that you liked?" This time a mischievous smile crisply formed on Dominique's face.

"Why are you so curious all of the sudden?"

"Answer the question." Irik sighed once more, finding this conversation unavoidable. Adding to his irritation was the inability to sit up in his chair.

"I'm not sure, sometimes I wonder that myself. Before Renton had disappeared, there was something about her smiles. Every time I saw one, I could see a small hidden strength. It was nothing like I had seen before. That smiled disappeared after his death. I worked hard with Artisen for three years to get it back. She started to smile again, but it was filled with a different kind of strength. I'm not really sure how to explain it." He almost felt like laughing while thinking about his own words. As he continued, he started to talk more with himself then Dominique. "I wanted to help her, and then I began to like her. The main reason being is," his words stopped for only a moment to consider, "she changed me." Dominique frowned and leaned back in his chair.

"Interesting, so that's why?"

"It was sense that time that I started to like her. For a time I was convinced it was like a small crush. That bothered me more than anything. I can't stand being filled with such distracting thoughts. There was work I wanted to complete without something like her to pull me away. But one thing I learned about this is the more you try to push it out, the harder it comes right back."

"Yes, love does have a funny way of doing that," chuckled the subtle man sitting next to him. Irik glanced at the wistful smile on Dominique's face. It's obvious his thoughts were on his closes love.

"But of course, that didn't turn out too well." He admitted, turning his face away from Dominique's.

"Which brings me back to why I'm so surprised. You actually told her?" Irik's first response to the question was a quick gritting of the teeth.

"Yes, I told her." Anger slowly crackled within his voice.

"Sorry, curiosity use to be my game. I was an informations officer." Even though Dominique had said it, Irik could still see an odd smile being suppressed.

"I would rather we get off this subject," he shoved in before Dominique had the chance to ask yet another question.

"Very well. Then let us return to my first question, one you have yet to answer. What is it you are planning to do?" At the very sentence, Dominique's complexion shifted back to complete seriousness. Social hour had ended. Now Irik knew it was time to once again stand up for his position as current captain.

"I was planning to continue a search for Eureka."

"And if you don't find her?" Irik's head jolted back slightly, confusion settling as a small frown on his face.

"I had thought of that before. But it wasn't something I had considered to tell the others. Or, I fear that I may be left in Eureka's place." Irik sighed and stared out the far window. "I don't want to lead this ship, Dominique. I'm barely holding up as it is. If we run into a battle, I'm not sure I would have the complete ability to lead everyone to victory." Dominique shifted his eye towards the window as well. He wasn't quite sure how to answer such a comment.

"I've know Eureka for a longer time than you, Irik. And I believe she would not make the wrong decision. If she chose you, then I'm sure she must have noticed leadership abilities within you. Maybe it's just you who has to see it."

"Well, I do not believe that is the case. The reason she established me as captain, or so I believe, is because I'm her closes friend. That and I think she wanted to make amends for having rejected my… feelings." Dominique perked his head up, as if to oppose the suggestion, but his head fell slightly in thought. A minute passed without either making a whisper of a noise.

"Eureka might do something like that," he started. "She probably wanted you to know that she still wanted you as a friend by putting you in a position close to her." Yet again he stopped and pondered, allowing silence to fill the room.

"So then, what do I do?" Irik turned his eyes to Dominique in some hopes of finding an answer.

"For now, continue searching. The Black Blade will continue to sail along your side. I'm sure commander Jeurgens wouldn't like idea. But like before, he'll yell and then let me go. That's just the kind of man he is."

"Alright, thank you Dominique." Dominque smiled and shook Irik's hand.'

"You're our friend too, Irik, not just Eureka. If you're in need, we'll be by your side." He nodded one last time and started for the door. But just before he reached it, he stopped and turned back. "Irik, I know how emotion can interfere with your works and your way of life. I know who you are Irik, and I know how you work. Listen to me when I say that you cannot suppress all feelings. Some you have to except and express or you just might be rejecting the very person you are. You did change a long time ago, Irik. I could tell there was a noticeable difference. But I have also realized that after you've learned to express some emotions, you have yet to let go of those same ones. Be careful, Irik. The ship needs you. When Jeurgens had called me to be captain of my own ship, I was surprised he would give me such a task. And I wasn't sure I could handle it. Anemone was there to encourage and strengthen me throughout that course in my life. Though she did it in a strange way. But your problem is not the same as mine. Because I know what is on your mind, Irik, it has been on everyone's. So now is the time to put aside your wants, and decide what will be best for this ship." They both shared eye contact. "What are you going to do if you can't find Eureka?" Irik felt his fingers twitch. The question was asked again, and it only seemed to bring more realization to the burden he was carrying. Unable to answer, Irik turned his face away.

When Dominique saw that he would get no response. He turned around and left.

---

"Well this is irritating," Eoin was convinced the most annoying man on earth had said.

"What's the problem?" Eoin asked while sighing, and glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms. Sweat was cultivating on her face. If she had a fever, he could tell it was getting worse.

"The plant should be somewhere around her. Notice that small black plant there."

"Yes."

"Well that is one of the most poisonous plants on this world. The small drips of liquid tha-,"

"Hey, why didn't you tell me before? What if I had stepped onto one with all the cuts in my clothing." He was feeling more aggravated by the second.

"Well, you're a U.F. pilot, correct? I can tell by your pilot suit."

"Yes…"

"Didn't you take wilderness survival?

"Yes…"

"Then there you have. Were you even listening? One of their highest warnings is to stay away from plants you don't recognize. And then be careful with the ones you're not sure about. Besides, it's common sense." Fin said with grueling rudeness. Speaking like Eoin was the idiot of the earth.

"But-,"

"Anyway, that plant produces a small liquid that is surprising helpful and dangerous. After some studies of its components, I think it may be the cure to some very difficult diseases. Unfortunately, the same liquid could kill any human within hours of contact. It sinks into the skin and works its way through the blood system. Not quite sure how it manages such a feet, but I positive it's similar to the process of other poisons. It's fairly annoying, but back to my point. The plant is usually found with the one we're looking for."

"So it is around here?" Fin actually stopped in place and faced Eoin, giving a cold look of annoyance.

"How did you make it past first grade?"

"It was a rhetorical question!" Eoin almost yelled back.

"Oh, well then let's continue," the man walked on as if no insult had taken place. Eoin felt like ringing his hands at the man, but immediately stopped to avoid hurting Eureka.

They continued to walk on, the trees hanging shade over their heads. Small flashes of light glinted at Eoin's eyes from above, but that didn't bother him. The fatigue from yesterday had still left his body numb. There were times where he wished he could just wipe his brows, but Eureka prevented him from doing so. Even though his entire body felt like falling apart, he continued. What mattered at the moment was to help his traveling companion. Though, he feared to see it that way.

"Wait!" Fin's voice exploded from in front. Eoin was so surprised, he almost dropped Eureka.

"What? What is it?"

"I found it, the cure plant. Look here at its green center and yellow edges. All we need is two of these seeds." Fin actually appeared excited as he crouched down and picked the seeds from the plant. "Here, set her down." The whole appearance of Fin changed. For once, Eoin almost noticed a politeness about him. He was almost afraid to set the girl down. "What?" Fin cocked a brow at Eoin and his hesitation.

"No-… Nothing," he shook his head and set Eureka down. Fin then proceeded to work with the small green seeds. After a moment, he had cracked them open. Inside Eoin could see a yellow jelly like liquid.

"This is a liquid that naturally brews inside of the seed. I'm not quite sure why it does, but I have some theory. Oddly, it has the attributes to cool down the body. Giving it to her at this time should help her. Any later, and we would have to supply several of these." Carefully he poured the small goops into her mouth. Eoin could felt like a cool steam lifted from his body. As far as he was concerned, Eureka would be alright.

"How long until she's better?" Fin sighed and looked her over.

"From what I can tell, it will only be thirty minutes to an hour. From then I suggest she gets rest. I'm not sure how she got these wounds, but they won't do too well. You're lucky to have found me." His politeness faded as he stood up and faced Eoin. "Well, I believe that is all you will need from me. I've wasted a good majority of my time helping you. So, now I'll leave." Fin turned around and began to walk off. As Eoin watched, he felt both pleased and saddened. Shaking his head, he looked back down at Eureka. She was still sleeping soundly, the sweat appearing to have gotten worse.

"Wait a moment," Eoin twisted his head up and looked over at Fin who had already made quite a distance. "Wait, Fin!" Eoin yelled and ran up to him. Once again, the man didn't stop until Eoin was completely in his way.

"What is it?" Fin said with every bit at showing his irritation.

"You still haven't told us how to get out of the forest," Eoin maintained a stern gaze.

"You never asked."

"Well, I'm asking now. Please, can you lead us to the nearest road?" The man rolled his eyes at the trees around them.

"I have things I need to do, but fine, I will."

"No worries my friends, no worries at all. Fin can be on his marry, and I'll kindly lead Eoin back to the road." A voice suddenly projected from nowhere. Both Eoin and Fin glanced around them but no person was to be found. "I believe, Eoin, you have caused a bit of trouble." The voice had a polite tone to it. But within that tone came a corrupted personality. It turned the insides of Eoin's stomach.

Something cold and hard pressed against the back of his head. No evidence was needed for him to figure out what it was.

"Who are you?" Eoin asked as the gun softly slid down to his back.

"Oh, we've met before. I was the man your girl kicked directly in the stomach, remember? I'm grateful that I decided to wear my bulletproof armor." He chuckled. "To think it actually protected me."

"Wait, Heln? What are you doing here?" Fin suddenly broke in, finally deciding that something seemed odd about the situation. Eoin couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"Fin, you can leave. You're still under Cill's protection. Why, I have no idea." The man gave a disgusting look at Fin.

"Then answer my question. Why are you dealing with an idiot like this?"

"Idiot? This man has caused serious trouble at our head city."

"You mean that city you stole from innocent people!" Fin's yell almost turned into a violent scream.

"Keep silent! You have no idea the capacity of the situation. These cities don't have any sort of government. They just rule themselves as if there was no war going on!"

"Are you some kind of incompetent fool? That's the whole point! They came here to escape a war they no longer felt the need to be apart of."

Through the screaming a yelling, Eoin carefully turned around and faced the two. Heln was furiously shaking his gun at Fin, while Fin just raised his hand in the air like a mad man. The fight between them felt both futile and pointless.

Letting them fight for a few more seconds, Eoin quickly shoved his knee into the Heln's stomach and took his gun. The action shook Fin from his rampage.

"W-what the?"

"Yeah, you guys actually started shouting gibberish. I can't believe how unprofessional you people are. Is this how your first fight began?" He shook his gun down at the unconscious Heln.

"No." Eoin then tossed the gun into the bushes and pulled out his own.

"Well, if that's true. Then how are you apart of all of this?" He turned his gun back to Fin. Fin only looked down at the gun and back up at Eoin. It appeared he didn't even cared, but gladly showed annoyance instead.

"What are you going to do? Shoot me? I'm no threat to you. If you kill me, then you will have committed murder."

"Murder… I don't think you fully understand what I'm capable of." He raised his gun at Fin's head. The anger in his face turned into a cold, apathetic stare. "I have killed many people. Some of those people were not within my interest to kill, because they seemed to be of no threat. But one thing I did learn in training, Fin, is to remove all threats. At the moment, you are a possible threat." Eoin felt like he meant it, he could feel his finger tightening on the trigger. But then his eye caught the fear and worry in the others eyes. He quickly shook his head and dropped the gun down. Fin wasn't sure what he just witnessed.

"Were you actually thinking about… shooting me?" Fin said with quick breath, surprise still opening his eyes wide. Eoin glanced at the man, unsure if he wanted to answer, because he wasn't sure if even he wanted to know. His eyes slowly fell down to the gun into his hand. Just a few second before, he could feel the gun launching its deathly gift.

"Is this who I truly am?" He whispered as he gazed at the gun in his hand.

"What?"

"Nothing, let's move this body." He reached down and began to push the body, but Fin wasn't so quick to react. Instead he stared down at Eoin with a mixture of confusion and fear. It burned a feeling inside of Eoin. He could literally feel the other looking at him. But that's not what scared him. What scared him was himself. For after years of work and service, he finally realized what kind of person this work had made him, a kind of person that was a complete stranger to him. And the only thought that brought him comfort, was the one thing he despised most. Eureka.

"Dang it." He shoved the limp body into the bushes, frustration building within. There was no way he could deny the truth.

Staring back at Fin, he stood up and took a second to think. Then the thought hit him. He swirled around and glanced at all the bushes.

"No, we don't have time for this!" He gritted his teeth and started off in a random direction, then stopped and turned around.

"What is it?" Fin asked.

"Eureka, we've only walked off a few feet, but because of all this plant life," he halted and swiped all the pushes and mossy trees under his eyes, "she's gone."

---

"Eureka… Eureka, get up!" Eureka instantly sat up as an arm shook her side. Gaseous fumes filled her lungs with sticky moist flow. She coughed and then opened her eyes, seeing that she was surrounded by smoke and debris.

"Where… Where am I?" She barely gasped through coughs.

"In the battlefield. Here, take your weapons." A heavy weight was suddenly placed in his lap. When she looked down, she saw a rough metal gun. It appeared to her that it had endured many battles with scratches marking its metal frame.

"Why am I here, what's going on?" Her hand tightly gripped the gun and it's offering comfort.

"This is where you need to be, Eureka." The strong male voice answered back.

"Then who are you?" She turned her head and felt very spirit of her body twitch.

"It's me, Renton?" He frowned in confusion.

"But… How is that?" Before asking anymore questions, she glanced about the area. They were sitting against a small shattered wall. Pillars of smoke traced the long fields of dirt around them. Turning to the sky, she could only see a grey overhead. And all about them could the sound of explosions be heard.

The whole site was eerie to her. It felt oddly familiar, like she had once been here before. But the site was so cruel that she refused to believe it was possible. The site caressed the idea of war. All around them were mutilated LFO, lifeless bodies, and abandoned weapons. There was no room for thought or emotion.

"Please, tell me where this place is." She turned back to Renton, fear having no grip on her. Though the site was disturbing, she had witnessed many similar places.

"I'm here to help you." He smiled the smile she once knew.

"Then, why are you here? I know this is a dream. Every time I see you, I know it has to be a dream. I hate dreams." She coldly administered.

"Yes, it could be. But what defines a dream Eureka?" His hand gently padded the top of his gun. She frowned at the gesture and question, confused on what he meant.

Seeing that she had no response, he smiled.

"I know. It's a little confusing. But that's why we're here."

"Why?"

"To find out what's happened to you."

"What do you mean?" He laughed and leaned back.

"Here, look at your hair." His hands suddenly emerged a small mirror beneath the debris. Lifting it to Eureka face, she saw something that surprised her. Her hair was a dark blue, dark to the point where it almost appeared black. Everything else about her seemed the same.

He placed the mirror back on the ground and faced her.

"What was that?" She immediately asked.

"That was you."

"No, my hair was black."

"Yes, that was you."

"But, my hair isn't that color."

"No it's not, that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" He sighed but continued to smile.

"Eureka, you've changed. And change is good. It is because of change that you became who you are. You even changed me, remember? And we all changed, but there is a wrong type of change, the kind of change that is for the worst."

"Are you saying that I had a bad change?" A saddened looked crossed her face.

"No, no Eureka. You just have no idea what you've changed into."

"That's because I no longer know who I want to be." She broke her gaze and stared off to the side, a greenish horizon meeting her gaze. "You use to be there and made me want to be who I wanted to be."

"But Eureka, I'm no longer here." She quickly retained eye contact with him. Ten years had gone by, and the words still pained her heart.

"But I…"

"No, you've changed, and you can't deny it."

"I know that, Renton, but I don't want to change. I was happy with the way I was, with you. But when I try relive that way, I can feel the pain again. And I was so close to feeling good again, but then Eoin…"

"Yes, I know, a lot has happened," he calmly answered. A cold silence settled in the area. Eureka shifted her gaze back down to the ground, thoughts filling her head. Suddenly she could feel the cold air around her.

"Please, I don't want to dream this anymore, it hurts." She shook her head and stood up. Renton immediately leapt into the air and knocked her back down, barely dodging the bullets aimed at her.

"Careful, you can't run away from this," he said through deep breaths. Eureka twisted her head away. The pain was building in her eyes, and she could feel a stinging liquid purge from the tips. It had been some time sense she had felt this kind of pain. And it buried all the way down to her stomach.

"I don't want to dream this anymore," she whispered.

"I know you don't, but you created this place yourself, Eureka."

"How?"

"This battlefield represents what this half of you has created, the half that you use to stand strong against battle." The smile disappeared from his warm face. It was gently replaced with a saddened look. He raised his hand and placed it against her cheek. "You've grown cold again."

Within the blink of an eye, the whole world disappeared. She jolted a look around to see everything was different. Now she sat on a white chair in the middle of a forest. Thick trees surrounded her in every direction.

Hesitantly she inhaled a breath. The air was sweet with fresh plant life.

"Hey, Eureka," a warm voice called to her. She turned forward to see a glass table sitting in front of her. Sitting just across was Renton.

"Why am I here?" She felt calmed, relaxed, and even happy. For no reason at all, a smile built at her lips.

"You've also created this place as well. This is the other side of you. I like this place."

"Renton, can you please explain to me what's going on."

"I can't tell you that. I'm no longer here." Eureka was pained at his words. She could feel the sting once again, but the tears only rested on the edge of her lids.

"But I don't understand. The battlefield and then this forest. None of it makes sense." She blinked at the beautiful trees that braced the light of the sun upon their green leaves.

"I think that's the problem, Eureka. Look at the two places." Once again she was sitting in the battlefield, and then back at the table. The feeling left her cold and warm at the same time. She wrapped her hand around her mouth, feeling a sickly pressure building along her throat.

"What was that," she said within a silent voice.

"Those are the two places you've created within you. They don't give any homage to you, Eureka." Suddenly he became urgent.

"I… I-I don't understand. Are you saying that I created these places?"

"Yes." He began to smile again.

"These are the places that home me?"

"Yes, this is what you've created."

"But what does it mean?"

"I can't tell you that, Eureka. All you need to know is that these places represent you." He said again. She paused and studied his words within her mind. Her eyes turned to the grass around them, which began twitch oddly. Slowly, white specks dotted and spread about, beginning to submerge the area.

"What's happening?" she asked and gripped her chair for support. The white specs spread like water droplets upon a clean sheet. It smoothly made its way to the trees.

"Things are changing again, Eureka. You're changing. This time you have to decide what you want to be. You can't cover yourself in destruction and confusion, hoping to hide your pains." The battlefield swerved into view around them. "And then hide yourself in a place like this." Once again the forest returned. She could feel the pressure getting stronger within her throat. "Please, just be ready to make the right choice. I think, Eureka, even a great beginning can lead to a horrible ending. I don't want you to be inside of something like that again. So please, Eureka, keep the thing with you that I loved most." Her eyes grew wide as the whole forest turned completely white. Things began to stretch and swirl in the distance behind Renton. She saw a bright light burst from the absorbing direction.

"Wait, Renton, what is that? What shouldn't I loose? What was it you don't want me to loose?" She desperately whipped a hand towards him. Even though she knew it was a dream, having had so many with Renton before, she couldn't let him go. His death could not take away the impression on her heart.

As he began to sip away into the background, he smiled one last time and waved.

"Don't loose you." When his words finished, so did everything else. Everything around Eureka flicked between black and white. The table sipped away, and she found herself sitting on a plain white ground that stretched on forever. Now hanging above her was a sky as pure as black.

"Renton." She knelt down and hugged her own body. The sting was returning, burning into her ears. And there was no way she could think to remove it.

---

"Where could she be?" Eoin grumbled and searched around the trees. Fin watched tiredly. He found the search completely useless.

"You're wasting time."

"Just don't move. You're the only marker we have so we don't wander further away."

"Can't you simply backtrack where you came from?" He shook his head.

"I'm doing that right now. I just can't remember which way I came from!" Eoin angrily responded.

"Oh, if that be the case, then I'll wait." Caring little, Fin sat down.

"I found it." Eoin announced and motioned Fin to follow.

"Excellent, what did you find?" Replied a mocking Fin.

"She's this way, I can tell."

"And how did you manage that?"

"The bushes right there, I recognize them. Hurry, we don't know how many more of Cill's men there are. They're probably heading for us right now." At the very word of Cill, Fin shot up and ran over.

"Alright, I have no problem following your choice of direction."

"Actually, you'll be doing the leading." Eoin smirked as they continued through the bushes and trees.

"How so?" He turned a single suspicious eye at Eoin.

"Once we reach Eureka, you'll be immediately leading us to the closest road. By that time, we'll part ways." Eoin nodded to himself, likening to the idea.

"You must be a fascinating subject for scientists. Being that you have made it to this age without a brain!" Fin yelled directly into Eoin's ear. Again he could feel his fingers twitching towards his gun. "Did you even pause for a millisecond to consider what that could lead to?"

"What's your point?" His voice struggled to keep from yelling back.

"Cill is after you, Cill! He's arrogant and thirsty for control. And with someone like her!" He jabbed his finger towards the ground. Eoin followed the indication to find Eureka lying unconscious. He quickly knelt down and tucked a hand under her head. "She is definitely something Cill will want because she could offer him more control. Reason being, you might wonder? Because she has been known to have done a lot of things, especially with that boy Renton or whatever. But here's the point. If she is captured by Cill, then he can publicize it to that group he's fighting."

"Wait…" Eoin frowned and stared up at Fin. "What is your connection with Cill? How do you know such much and why do you care?"

"Because he ruins everything!" Fin gripped his fists. "The idiot doesn't know when to let alone." He spotted an odd look of surprise on Eoin's face. "Dang it." The infuriated man turned his head away

"You didn't answer the full question." Eoin continued to stare at him, undaunted. Fin couldn't receive that stare. He continued to look around at the tree, a fierce look of hate on his face.

"I've known Cill for a long time. He was of those demanding types, incredibly annoying at times, but I stuck with him. We were good friends, and he helped me through my school years. While he was taking classes at the academy, training to be a KLF pilot, I took my classes as a training doctor." He gritted his teeth and glared at the sky. "Cill convinced me that the ways of the U.F. were wrong. I believed him, and I still do in some cases. But his next idea was the most idiotic one I ever thought to follow. He asked me to come with him and his other… friends." Fin began to calm down, but his voice still held tension. "I went with him. The U.F. became one of the last places I wanted to be. So we took a shuttle over here, to this continent. Then Cill's true intentions became very clear to me. He wasn't trying to escape from the U.F., but just find a quicker way to gain control over something. It was apparent when I noticed how annoyed he would become at the commanders orders. There were times when he continued to babble on about their inferior way of thinking." Sighing, he sat down on the ground.

"If that's true, then why does he act and rule as a U.F. commander, or so he tries…"

"Like I said, he actually left because he didn't like being ordered around. When the time suited him, he immediately adopted their ways. I left him immediately after that. He wasn't happy at all, I was one of his closest friends. To what may be your surprise, I wasn't happy either. I wasn't always this condescending. Maybe I thought that was sometimes, but I refused to become that way. After traveling for sometime, I discovered a city that could use my expertise. They were a hard working collection of people. Every day they strived to plant crops, collect food, and build their homes. They actually had a very fine city, simple, but fine. I ended up deciding that the town would become my home. People treated me as if I were apart of their family. That was something I had never felt before."

Eoin could see Fin was dazing slightly. A saddened aura wistfully loomed within his eyes.

"Then there was a girl I had met. She was cute, a year younger than myself. We became quite a couple, and then I continued to live on in the city." The saddened look evaporated. He stood up and resumed his normal look of arrogance. "The fool of an idiot Cill came. With him was a larger group of friends. I never actually thought he would lure people into his… his," he struggled to find the words, "childish ideas! He was going to do what he did to others, take over. When he began to attack, he killed several people. I moved forward and the attack stopped immediately. Cill had ordered them to stop and immediately leave the city. Don't ask me why he did. I don't even understand the kind of person he is anymore."

"Instead of receiving the warm welcome I had suspected from my city, I was threatened. The entire town thought it was because of me Cill came. Some were furious, regretting they had ever invited me into their friendship. I couldn't believe it," Fin chuckled, yet Eoin could find no humor, "they exiled me from the city. On that same day, I packed and left." The moment he stopped, it felt to Eoin as if the entire area went silent. It seemed to him that he had viewed Fin wrongly. The man now seemed completely different than what he had viewed before. Though Fin was arrogant and rude, Eoin could see that there was a reason. Yet another thought intrigued his thinking. He had at last heard of the true story behind Cill. Or at least he hoped so.

"What about the girl?" He didn't stop the question from being asked.

"She asked me to stay. I told her no. Then she offered to go with me, and again, I said no."

Eoin frowned, "Why would you say no?"

"Because of the way she looked at me. She lost two really good friends that day, and I don't fully believe she forgave me."

"How can you say that? She offered to go with you."

"Her parents wouldn't have let her gone anyway. It was a long time ago, and it's not important to what is happening now. So how about we stop conversing about my most lovely past and decide what you are going to do with her." Fin turned his eyes back to Eureka.

"What else? We're taking her with us of course."

"Yes, I know that you idiot, but we need to keep her stable. The medicine should be taking effect."

"It should?" Eoin pulled his hand out from under Eureka's head. He rubbed his thumbs against his fingers and glared. A sticky liquid squeezed on the edge of his skin. When he placed his hand underneath her head again, he could feel it was moist with sweat. He then quickly placed his hand atop her forehead. "This isn't good, her head has gotten hotter." The same urgency he had felt before was building.

"What?" Fin placed his hand on top of her head as well. "That can't be right, the medicine should have work. She is clearly showing the symptoms of a fever." He looked her over with no idea of what to do.

"You're a doctor, do something." Roughly he jerked his hand at Eureka.

"Not everything works out the way it should! Maybe if I had the equipment, then I could tell you. But seeing as how we're stranded in the middle of a forest, and without any technology of any sort anywhere on this continent," he stopped, satisfied with his proven point.

"Then what are we going to do? She is getting sick again, and this isn't the best place to treat her. Not with the chance Heln having lead other men here."

"Don't you think I know that? But moving her could make it worse. We need to get her to an area with plenty of shade." Fin finished and stood up.

"Well, so this is where you were hiding her." A voice gruffly sounded from behind. Both Fin and Eoin turned their heads to see Heln and two other men at his side. Eoin was disappointed to see that both were equipped with rifles. "I would be very happy to receive my pistol now, if you would." The two men raised their guns at Eoin. He smiled and raised his hands to the air.

"I tossed it into the bush somewhere around where we were. So if you want it back, you can look there."

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Heln violently commanded. "You're nothing more than a simple U.F. pilot. Cill has found no need to you. So if you want me to put that in better context, that means we don't need to bring you back alive, or at all." The man wiped the edges of his forehead. Eoin took the time to glance around at his surroundings. It was three on one, being that Fin would be of no help. He minded the distance between him and Eureka. The last thing he wanted was to put her in more danger. But he knew it would be far worse to be captured and sent back. They had traveled too far to go back now.

"That's a lie. You need me." Eoin spoke confidently, though he felt hesitation within.

"Oh really? Then let me prove to you wrong you are." Heln reached for the gun the other man carried. With this, Eoin took immediate action. He launched forward and kicked the other man in the helpless stomach. The force shoved a painful groan from the man's mouth. Eoin whipped his hand forward and stole the gun. He started to turn towards the others, but was stopped before he even had the chance. A hard object slammed against his back, rocking pain into his shoulders. The ground quickly met to catch him.

"Bold attempt," Heln nodded, impressed. Eoin anchored his to see a metallic rifle pointing at his forehead. "Still thinking I'm lying? If so, then I love to lie." The man's smile grew wide with satisfaction as he began to pull the trigger. Eoin shut his eyes tight, ready for the bullet to release him from this world. It was an odd feeling within him as he waited, his mind shot forward at speeds he had never experienced before. He felt cold, almost anxious in wonder. Death wasn't something he was looking forward to. And as he thought the trigger was about to be pulled, a different thought entered his mind, one he hadn't suspected. He wondered what would happen to Eureka after this point. Leaving her behind left her little chance to escape. Now anger surged through his body, burning into the tips of his very fingers. The urge crunched his hands into tight fists, and he opened his eyes. However, the gun never fired. Instead it yelled in pain and flailed away from his site.

Blinking, he took a moment to consider what in the world happened. What he saw confused him in every way. The men were writing on the ground with their faces in their hands. Each one emitted groans of absolute pain.

"That burns in ways I didn't imagine," Fin furiously commented. Eoin turned his head to see Fin gripping his right arm.

"What happened?" He asked as he stood up.

"That happened." With a nod of his head, he motioned at the black plant on the ground. It was the same one he could remember Fin mentioning.

"You took one with you?" Eoin was both surprised and impressed.

"No, I told you that the plant could be found around the one we needed. So while you two were babbling about, I searched for it. Sense Heln thought I was of no threat, I simple picked it out of the ground and threw it at their faces. The liquid secretes itself from the leaves. So it definitely got their faces… and my hand." He glanced down to see that his hand was turning a mushy red.

"Wait, but it will kill you too!" Eoin rushed forward. Fin stopped him with a raised hand. "What, we need to do something about it." Eoin stared in confusion.

"Yes, I know, but I'm perfectly fine." He walked forward and kicked Heln in the side once. A smile crossed his lips when he received a groan in return. "This plant is deadly, but easily curable. The red reaction and pain is just the acidic properties of the fluid. Although it may hurt like crazy, it would take some time for the liquid to actually sink deep into your skin. All I need is soap and water. And what wonderful news, I happen to have both," he sarcastically announced.

"So you're alright?" Eoin asked. Fin frowned, looked down at his hand, and then nodded.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Good, what will happen to them?" He glanced at the two cringing men. Even though he asked, he cared little.

"They'll wash their faces, I'm sure. That should stop them from dieing. But unfortunately, they'll be left very sick." He made it sound as if it were a good thing.

"Good," satisfied, he turned back around and began to pick Eureka up. He carefully looked her over, seeing the sweat was beginning to bleed through her clothing. She was slick in his arms, completely covered. "Dang it, we have to find a cool place fast." He started to search about the area. Fin watched with interest, but not in amusement.

"Eoin…" Fin started in a voice that seemed completely unlike himself. This time he sounded serious.

"What is it?" He turned back around to see Fin staring down at Eureka.

"Do you," he paused, seeming unsure of how to say it, "care about her?" The question froze Eoin in place. They both stared at each other without a word uttered. The reason being that Eoin was unsure if he could answer truthfully. He could lie, but not even he himself was sure if it was a lie. It was a question that scared him, so he only stared.

Time flowed by with no sound except for the peeps of the forest and the groans of the wounded men. Then Fin nodded.

"Alright, follow me," he said and started off through the forest. Eoin didn't hesitate to follow him, but he found the new stir of personality odd. It was obvious to him now that Fin wasn't a person of one set emotion. This was someone that would take time to understand. Somehow, he thought that time would never come.

The lights that speckled against the ground began to dim. Eoin turned his eyes to the trees that flew above them. He could see that day was dieing yet again. Soon night would take its place. The only thing that filled his mind at the site was Eureka.

She had grown moister as they moved throughout the forest. The trees around may have given shield from light, but no shield from heat. He occasionally placed his hand against her head only to discover that it had gotten worse. And he wanted to know why it drove him mad. Her expressions were changing, filled with pain and remorse. All he wanted to know was why. He wanted to know what was going on in her mind that he couldn't see. Sometimes he assumed the fever, but that still left the unsettling feeling. There was something else in her expressions that he saw. Something was happening.

"Eoin," Fin's voice interrupted his thoughts. He didn't mind, his thoughts were only causing him more confusion. A break sounded pleasing.

"What is it?" He asked and again looked Eureka over.

"We're here, this place should be fine." Fin motioned with his bandaged hand at a small opening in a wall. At first, Eoin was confused. But when he finally looked it over, the place came into view. There was a small opening against a rocky wall. He followed the wall to see it extend towards the sky while stopping at a cliff.

"What is this place?" He asked as he dropped his head back down to Fin.

"This is my place of study and my home." Nodding nonchalantly, he headed inside. The darkness consumed him in a curtain of shadows. Eoin only hesitated for a second until he followed in himself.

Darkness flooded his surroundings. His only source of light became bare shades of blue against the walls. Then he stopped. A cool breeze settled against his body. Inside here, he could tell would be better for Eureka. It brought him a sense of calm just at the thought.

"Fin?" He called, and just as he did so, a light burst across his vision. It caused him to stumble back slightly, but he was careful not to loose Eureka.

"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you. But do you really think I live here in darkness?"

"No, but I would have liked a warning."

"Yes, well, life doesn't always give you warnings. Set her down over here." He waved his hand at a small mat. Eoin carefully settled Eureka upon the mat's comfort. After doing so, he sat down and leaned against the wall.

The room as he looked at it was filled with many curious objects. Curving along the wall was a small cord that led to a light on the ceiling. Papers were scrambled about on a rudely made table that appeared to be a log. On the left side of the room were several plants of all varieties. And in the center of it all was Fin himself. He was sitting down staring over a few short documents, rubbing the bandage that now covered his hand.

"Is your hand alright," Eoin decidedly asked.

"Yes, It's fine. After washing it with the soap, it should be completely safe from any permanent damage. How is her fever?" He slid a paper across the ground and began to write notes upon its blank surface. Eoin checked her temperature as he did so.

"Worse," he said tiredly.

"Then it appears that my assumption is wrong. She is either sick with something else, or the seed does not work, although that seems strange. I have used the same seed on other patients, and have received thrilling results. Why isn't it working for her?" He finished writing one last word before dropping his pencil.

Eoin dropped his head, the sense of fatigue returning once more. But even as he tried to rapture himself within sleep, Eureka dove into his thoughts. He felt forced to open his eyes and check on her just one last time. There was no difference, as he had expected. Yet he could not stop her from entering his thoughts again. He felt compelled to make her feel better, to help her, but there was little he could do. The very urge ting at his nerves of annoyance

"Are you alright?" Fin's question beckoned Eoin's eyes to shift up. He quickly shook his head and leaned against the wall.

" I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Eoin wondered why he suddenly cared.

"Yes, I'm fine. Where is the power source for that light?" The attempt to change subjects did not surpass Fin's level of perception. The man raised a brow, and nonetheless nodded towards the left.

"There is a small battery I have over there. I buy a new one once every three weeks, sometimes more if I'm avoiding long nights." Fin answered and continued to stare. Eoin could see he was holding something back, something that desperately wanted to be let go. Finally Fin sighed. "Eoin, just answer my question. How is it that you ended up with Eureka Thurston?" The question felt utterly random, but Eoin was no where near surprised. It was one that he feared many times before, after discovering how popular she really was. Though that thought bothered him. He began to wonder why he was only first hearing about her. That thought was quickly tossed as he faced Fin's question.

"We were stranded on this continent."

"How did that happen?"

"There was a battle…" Fin raised his brows in a gesture of "oh", but made no sound.

"Then I assume it was between you two?"

"Yes. We fought against each other."

"And I'm sure the army ordered you to do so without a word as to why."

Eoin was getting sick of the answer, but he had no choice, "yes."

"I actually heard that the U.F. use to give their men reasons. But as I'm sure you've heard, they lied then too."

"That was different, things have changed sense then!" Eoin suddenly exploded in anger. Fin flinched back in complete surprise. When Eoin caught his reaction, he turned his head away. "Sorry," he quietly admitted. He was even surprised that he had reacted that way. It was a subject that he attempted to push from his mind for a long time.

"The kind of reaction I would suspect from one who is troubled." Fin mumbled as he lied down. "Doesn't that intrigue you in the least?"

"It's not a subject I would like to discuss."

"Of course, run away from the things you fear. The truth can be a scary thing. Do you have any idea what the P.O.F. are like? Why we're at war with them at all?" The question rested in a dark place inside Eoin's mind. He could already feel his imagination perking up at its touch. It was a subject he had never considered before, at least no consciously. There were times in the past where he had considered his orders, or the meaning of their engagement against the enemy. But an order was an order, and he realized that.

"Have you ever questioned your orders?"

"Fin!" Eoin fiercely called his name. "I'm not joking when I say this is not a subject I want to discuss." He turned a cold eye to the man that sat across from him. They both shared contact for sometimes until Fin shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever you say." Fin then lied down against the ground. "Go ahead and rest. I can tell that you have had a rougher day than I, maybe two from the looks of it." His eyes glanced at the opening of the cave.

"Will they be able to track us here?" Eoin asked.

"Unlikely after this." Fin reached over and hit a button on the battery. The lights drained from the area, taking in the flows of darkness. Eoin glanced at the opening of the cave. It was a far way off, barely faint with light. He could see that night was coming at last.

Before he closed his eyes and finally accepted the arms of rest, he raised his hand and placed it over Eureka's head. The heat was higher than ever. At it's touch, he felt the desire of sleep closed off from any possibility. And his worries slowly wrapped around his mind. The question that Fin had bared against him refused to be ignored. They left unsettling thoughts in his mind.

---

"Renton…" Eureka's muffled voice emitted from her face that pressed into the ground. She still sat on a world of white that was covered in darkness.

"Eureka, what are you doing? Sit up and face me." Eureka opened her eyes at the voice. It was one she recognized, but not one she had suspected.

Sitting up she saw a plain mirror floating in front of her. Before the reflective window she saw a different world. The ground was black, and the world appeared to be covered in light.

"Why are you here?" She asked herself. There sitting inside the mirror just as she was, was herself. The only difference she noticed was the color of hair. Instead of being her normal teal, it was an almost white, barely showing a tint of its original color.

"I'm here trying to see why we are no longer as one." The girl in the mirror tilted her head.

"We both know the answer to that." Her head turned towards the ground by the mere thought.

"Because Renton is gone…" Another voice called from behind. Her own.

Eureka turned around to see a form of herself that she recognized. This new Eureka had almost black hair like before.

"Yes he's gone, and we can't change that. It's been ten years!" The lighter said.

"Then what do we do. Renton made me want to be what I wanted to be. He's the one that changed me." Eureka spoke aloud to the two mirrors.

"That is true, but he is gone now, and will never return. How can we accept what we are without him?" The Darker asked.

"Simple, we don't forget what he's taught us. What if we are all that's left of him? Maeter, Linck, and Maurice as well? We are inside his family, and that would mean that we are apart of his memory. If we remain this way, then wouldn't all that he has done been for nothing?" Silence overtook the area when the question was asked. Eureka then lifted her head at the two mirrors that now floated in front of her. Their looks were completely different, yet infinitely the same.

"I don't want to forget what Renton has taught me, even though it has felt like he's never gone." The two stared directly at her. "But it hurts to think about it, even after all this time. So what can I do? I change when the pain returns," she turned to the darker, "and I act as if all is fine," she turned to the lighter. "I feel like I can be happy, but would that be a betrayal to his memory?" Neither answered her right away. But oddly, the darker raised her head.

"His memory is apart of us. And I think that if we do remain this way, then we will change. Then that would be a disgrace to his memory."

"Yes, that's right." The lighter smiled at the Darker.

"But what do we do now. We've changed so much." Eureka asked them both.

"I disagree," the Darker began, "if we accept the pain, and understand what cannot be changed. Then we can be what he would want us to be. Renton just wants us to be our self. So let us stop separating ourselves and join together at last." The two mirrors fused together, revealing a Eureka that looked more like herself. The other Eureka reached her hand out of the mirror.

"And what if he is not gone?" Eureka asked the new mirror.

"Then we seize the chance." The other smiled, still offering its hand. Eureka finally took it, feeling a calm flood the insides of her body. She exhaled a breath and felt her eyes drift to a close. "Hope… isn't wrong." She said to herself. "There could be chance." And then her eyes shut. For a second she felt complete nothingness, and she opened her eyes again. There was still no light to be found, but the area felt real while moist air cycled throughout her body.

"Where am I?" She asked as she sat up. Looking to her side, she could see a faint light. But as far as she could tell, it was the shades of the moon. Her were damp and pungent. When she touched her forehead, she could tell that it had been moist from deep sweat.

Gently she reached around and unzipped apart of her back. The area was immediately filled with the glow of her wings. With its glow, she analyzed her surroundings. A man lay on the floor in front of her. She felt like she recognized the man. From where, she couldn't recall.

As she continued to scan, she found another figure right next to her. This one she instantly recognized. She quickly reached back and zipped up her clothing to hide her wings. Even though she could no longer see his face, she felt the image of Eoin burned into her mind.

"You didn't leave me." She whispered to herself. The idea left a warm feeling insider her chest. "There has to be a chance then. I've never felt it this strongly before." She moved her hand to where he thought his was. His hand fell into her tender touch. For a second she left it there, until she could feel warmth emerging. "Yes, I know now." She smiled and lied back down. The silence did not taunt her that night for the first time in a long time.

Credit:

Author: Kaster-Revised

Beta Reader: Artisen12


	9. Chapter 9: The Sunrise Kiss

109

**Chapter 9: The Sunrise Kiss**

**Thought I was dead, eh? Well, I'm not, and you can suspect more chapters.**

"But sir, that's absolutely insane! Even if we do attack the base, they have a force that is much stronger than ours. We will surely be destroyed in the attempt. Do you want to make such a suicidal action?" A young man with clean cut hair yelled at his commanding officer. Eoin sighed at the voice, dearly hoping that the commander wouldn't overreact like his friend.

The commander who sat at his metallic desk leaned forward. Glints of light curved over his skin from the two tall windows at their side. He raised one simple brow.

"I would be careful, lieutenant Clark. Your complaint could be filed as a sort of treason. If you refuse my order, you refuse your government. Though Eoin," he muttered as he leaned back in his seat, "I'm surprised to find you here. Do you always let your friends lead you like this?" Eoin made no attempt to answer the question. He instead diverted his eyes to the pictures that hung on the walls. Most consisting of previous commanders.

"Sir, he came here on his own will. We're both concerned with the well being of the citizens in that sector! They will be killed along with the bombing as well!" Clark started up again.

"Not if we carefully aim our bombs, Clark. Listen, if you want to keep your position as you are now, I would suggest you leave and keep quiet. This order is not from me, it's from one of the high admirals. But an order is an order, follow it…" The commander stood up and motioned to the door. "I will no longer tolerate such impotence. Both of you will leave now." Clark gritted his teeth and stood up. Eoin followed the same motion. As they made their leave, the commander made one last remark, "Enjoy this battle, Clark. We can't always pick and choose the ones that don't make it back." Although Eoin felt the comment seemed odd, his friend only waved his hand in mocking gesture.

"That arrogant jerk." Clark furiously said as they walked down the hall. Another group of military grouped men passed, chattering in amusement as they went. "I can't believe we're doing this… We're going to bomb that city. How can he be so sure that we will avoid citizens?"

"I'm sure the commander wouldn't carry on a plan that would endanger the lives of people," Eoin replied rather tiredly. The topic was even beginning to get on his nerves.

"You're too calm Eoin."

"And you're worried," he answered back.

"Still, this is going to be chaos. We're attacking them with an insufficient force. I just know this can't work. Eoin, we could loose this battle. We could die!" Clark began to start breathing faster then normal. He stopped and glanced at his surroundings. Eoin reached out a hand and firmly placed it on his shoulder.

"Calm down Clark. I promise that as long as you stick by me, I'll protect you. You haven't seen me hit yet, have you?" Eoin shared a small smile. Clark quickly nodded and resumed walking.

"But those people."

"They'll be fine. The commander was made commander for a reason, Clark."

"Still, I just would like to know why we're attacking now. What is it that's happening that requires us at such a time?" Clark shoved his hands into his pockets.

"It's their weak point, that's what I hear from Nina, and I trust her. She seems to know everything, although the topic had made her aggravated. Never seen her so annoyed before, so I dropped it."

"Nina got mad?" Clark chuckled. "Well that's not what I heard. I did a little research on the base we're attacking. As far as I can tell, it's one of their strong holds. If we're successful, then we would have a major lead into the enemy's base. But still! The odds are too against us. We're not going to win a battle like that, not with the force we're sending. There must be something else their trying to achieve, but what?" Eoin could see Clark getting excited again. He sighed and quietly shook his head.

"We're not going to stop this attack Clark. We're just two people. We'll go and fight this battle. Besides, what else could we do?"

"Could run…" He silently let out.

"What!?" Eoin barely scraped the edges of yelling.

"Nothing, Eoin, nothing. I was just joking, come on." Clark shrugged his soldier and stared up at the ceiling. "Still, we're not told enough, Eoin. Doesn't that bother you at all? Haven't you felt this feeling like something was missing? It's like only being told half of your command." Clark dropped his head. "You're my best friend, Eoin. I don't want you dieing on this either." Eoin turned his head to Clark. He could see a sincere sense of depression on his face. Smiling, he nodded and looked forward.

"You're my closest friend, Clark. I'll make sure that we pull through this. Just stick with me, like I said before."

"Eoin." Eoin's eyes shot open as a voice breached the walls of his ears. He lulled slightly as his mind slipped back into the full world of awareness.

The cave was lit with a pale blue emitting from the opening of the cave. When his eye adjusted, he saw a beautiful site staring right back at him. Despite her clothes being tattered and ruin, the smile on her face shined brighter than ever. Not only that, but she was staring right back at him with a sense of meaning. It was the person he was still learning to understand, Eureka.

"I'm sorry if I awoke you from a good dream," she said in a normal voice that was filled with soothing calm.

"Where… how did I?" He looked around for a second at the cave. The place was no different than last night. It occurred to him that the exact same thing happened yesterday, yet they continued to appear out of order. These very memories being the least of few he ever wanted to remember.

"What is it, how did what?" Eureka frowned and glanced at the place he looked.

"Nothing…" Eoin rubbed his head and sighed, he wonder why these reenactments were happening now, and in his dreams. He then sat up and gave Eureka one, two, three looks over. "Eureka, are you alright?" His question came through a breath of surprise.

"Yes," she tilted her head at him, "why are you asking? Was I sick?" Eoin stared in complete bewilderment.

"Yesterday you had a fever that wouldn't go down. Me and Fin were trying to help you." Grunting, he put his hand to his forehead. A small pain was beginning to build just above his eye.

"I have no recollection of this. Is something wrong with your head?" She attempted to reach out, but Eoin quickly whipped his hand in a stopping gesture.

"No, I'm fine. It's just a head ache." He coughed and glanced at Eureka. There was a question he felt like asking again, but feared to do so. Eventually the desire gave in and he let it go. "Are you sure you're alright?" Eureka stared at him for sometime until she finally smiled and nodded. "Good," he partially muttered through a sigh.

The smile increased on Eureka's lips. When Eoin saw this, he glared and stood up. Every muscle within his body exploded with aches and pains, except for one point, his hand. It tingled with an odd feeling he had never felt before, like a gentle warmth

Slightly bothered, he began to rub it unconsciously.

"Is something wrong with your hand?" Another sympathetic question came from her caring voice.

"No, it just feels strange. I think I may have slept on it." Quickly shaking it, he glanced about the room. "Where's Fin?"

"He went to gather a few more supplies for us." Eureka answered as she stood up next to him. She still had the look in her eyes that tempted him to look back, but he refused to do so.

A flexible object was pushed into his hands. He jolted his head in alarm but saw it was only a water bottle.

"Drink it. It should help with your head ache." His eyes longingly fell on the bottle of water. He could already imagine the touch of water trickling down his tongue and diminishing his dire need for water.

"No, I should save it for later. We're almost running out." He regretfully refused.

"Don't worry. All the bottles have been filled. You can drink as much as you need." She pressed the bottle into his hand, touching the one that was oddly bothering him. At the touch, his hand amplified the strange feeling. He quickly snatched the bottle to stop it.

"Thank you," he said as the tip of the bottle raised to his lips. The strangeness of his actions hadn't caught Eureka's attention. As far as he could tell, Eureka was just happy to see him drinking the water.

"You're welcome," she answered back. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her still staring at him. "Eoin, I-," she had begun but was quickly cut short as Fin entered the cave. He held two bags of various supplies.

"Well good morning sunshine," Fin threw his hello in a way that sounded more like an insult.

"Morning…" Eoin dully answered back.

"Thank you, Fin," Eureka's voice broke the forming tension.

"Of course, Eureka. The leading captain of the Gekko-State should have every right to my resources." He dropped the two bags next to theirs. "All I ask in return is a quick leave. I do have work that must be done. Please, leave quickly." His hands waved in a shooing manner.

Eoin gnashed his teeth back and forth. Something about Fin just wouldn't leave his nerves alone. Only one word came to his mind.

"Thank you, Fin. We'll leave immediately. I know you have saved my life, so thank you again."

"Yes, of course, like I said." Fin rested his hands on his hips and waited. Eoin took this time to pick up the bags and sling them around his neck. Once everything was gathered, they started for the door. To Eoin it felt slightly empty. There were no good byes, no words, no nothing. All they did was walk away.

"Wait, where are we going?" Eoin stopped as the thought crossed his mind. It prickled in his thoughts as to whether this was an excuse to stay longer, or actually ask a needed question.

"Don't worry, I gave Eureka directions. You can just leave." Fin answered. Eoin found it difficult to continue walking again. The need to say something was building.

"Oh, that's right, Eoin," Fin chuckled and he stared at the other man. "Why don't you consider what I said last night. Just think about it." Fin smiled a type of smirk. As Eoin stared at Fin's odd grin, several thoughts crossed his mind. First last night entered his mind, and then his odd reoccurring dreams flickered into memory.

His teeth clenched for a small moment and then released. He knew Fin was purposely bringing up the subject he despised. But at the same time, he could tell Fin meant it.

Letting out a sigh, he turned his head back to Fin. If Fin was going to challenge his beliefs, then Eoin would challenge his. And one point became his ammo for the attack. This one who knew Fin himself despised.

"I will, if you rethink your actions with the girl." At last he turned around and started to walk off. He wondered what thoughts were crossing Fin's mind, what emotions he must be feeling. Nonetheless, he refused to turn around and see for himself. It was a matter he wanted to forget. All he needed to know was that Eureka was safe and they were back on track. That was enough for him.

Yet just as they hit the mouth of the cave, Eoin dropped his head in thought. He knew from that point on Fin would never be seen again. For a man Eoin knew he disliked, he wondered why he cared. One last glance at the cave told him he was leaving behind someone that had helped them in need.

Now he understood. Fin wasn't the man he seemed at first glance. As Eoin tossed aside the annoying tendencies, he saw Fin for what he was, or maybe, he thought, what Fin once was. He was a doctor that was only trying to help those who honestly sought his assistance. There must have been a time when he shared an infinite kindness to others. The thought almost scared Eoin, but he could oddly picture it inside his head; a man who treated patience with a smile.

Eoin gently jerked his head back and forth. He looked forward and grasped the whole of the forest in his eyes. Whoever Fin once was, he'd never know. The man was slowly disappearing from their futures behind them, where his only home could be found somewhere inside a memory soon for forgotten.

Eoin found himself walking along a crackly path of pebbles. Fin's directions had been right on. They were now back on track, heading towards the place they both longed to find again.

Yet Eoin felt uncomfortable. Walking beside him was Eureka, who was staring off to the side of the path. Before her vision was a cliff that seemed to aimlessly reveal a grand forest of green. It appeared to stretch on forever, pouring over the horizon and falling away from the glowing orb in the sky, the sun. Her hair was lit up in a blaze of gold as the sun reflected against her hair. He became entranced as it seemed her hair was lit on fire.

He hated that. As he stared, he wondered what she was thinking, what was crossing her mind. Because on the cheek of her lips was a small smile. And as far as he was concerned, the past few days gave no reason to smile at all. Something obviously happened, and he wanted to know more than anything else, but that chance had little hope, leaving him to his frustration.

Gritting his teeth, he sighed and turned back to the ground. They were walking the same path, but moving inside two different worlds. For that brief moment, he closed his eyes and attempted to regain calm.

"Hey Eoin, watch your flank!" Clark's voice burst over the speakers. Eoin's eyes whipped open, and he gripped the controls of the LFO. The beautiful place that had just been beside him was now gone. Now he was surrounded by screens that screamed bleeps of emergency and warning. He furiously twisted and turned the LFO, barely escaping the touch of four speeding missiles.

"Thanks, Clark," Eoin gasped under his breath. The battle was going horribly wrong. His comrades were being plucked out of the sky. Only two people remained in his squad, himself, and Clark.

Although the battle continued to show no sign of success, there wasn't a single call for retreat. Everyone around him was continuously pushing at the onslaught of enemies, and as far as he could tell, pointlessly. He caught five LFO which appeared to have success. They were covered in white plating with a design he had never seen before. Their attacks were ruthless and almost suicidal. Eoin wondered who, and if not that, what they were.

That thought quickly lost its hold as he sprayed three enemy KLFs with a barrage of bullets. Some people have deemed him the ace of the base; even his friend wasn't shy in admitting his skills. Yet he took no pride in having such talent, even though it was not admittedly all he had.

"Eoin, we're ok for now. The fifth wave has been cleared. Maybe they'll finally order the retreat," Clark's voice came once again. Eoin leaned against his seat and nodded in relief. Only for a moment the skies would be clear and he could breath.

"How are you doing Clark?" he asked as if everything were alright. On the other hand, Clark's voice came back filled with nervousness tension.

"Annoyed, utterly annoyed. We've lost this battle, our fleet is almost completely gone," Clark paused, "My specs show that there is only twenty nine of us lefty… twenty nine!" Eoin flinched at his yell. He could tell that this battle was tearing Clark apart.

"Calm down Clark, we'll be ok. Don't forget that I'm still here with you. The commander will call off the battle, he has no choice."

"And if he doesn't?" His voice quivered back.

"Then we'll…" Eoin trailed off. They both knew that running from battle was no different then running in front of a bullet. If the commander doesn't give the command, it's considered treason.

"You know we have no chance, everyone knows! The only people still fighting with full strength are those… things up there!" Eoin turned to his upper screen to see the same five white KLFs. There was something that seemed too ominous about their appearance. When he turned back down to his comm, he noticed they had no communication link. They couldn't have been human.

"I know, Clark! Just calm down!" Eoin yelled back, beginning to feel anxious himself. There was a long pause. He placed a hand on his forehead and sighed. "Sorry, Clark."

"No, It's fine Eoin. I know you're right, and I'm trying to maintain myself. There's just something that feels wrong about all of this. Why did they send us into such a battle? That's all I want to know…" Eoin remained silent at his question, he had no answer.

They continued to sit silently, waiting for the next order. Eoin glanced at his other screens. All of the KLFs floated above the pure white clouds. Occasionally he spotted a small opening that revealed the greenish landscape below. As he traced the holes along, his vision finally met the very thing they were fighting. It was a newly built tower, massive in its structure. The tip of its landing pads sprouted from the fields of clouds and shot a shadow across. While he gazed at it, he could see the next fleet of enemies approaching.

"No, look in the middle Eoin. I can see three P.O.F. cruisers heading this way. They're going to take us all down this time." Clark's voice trembled with terror. "Eoin, we're going to die."

"Spread out, scatter, anything to get out of the range of those long cannons. They're charging their cannons, spread out, now!" The Commander's voice yelled over the comm.. Eoin instantly twisted his controls, sending his KLF into a barrel roll. Flashes of light passed across his screen. His only escape from blindness was the self dimming built into his helmet.

"Eoin, we're not going to make it, so please listen. There's something I've felt that you really need to hear," every one of Clark's words popped with fear. "When I met you at classroom 24B, I assumed something. I thought I recognized something that I had no idea would cause trouble. I talked about it with others, but they told me to shut up and forget it. They said that if I were to ever speak about this with the commanders, I could die." Eoin could literally hear him swallow through the speakers. "Eoin, I think there's something strange about your coming here. I think you're-," Clark never had the chance to finish as four beams passed all around them. Eoin could see him barely to the right, easily missing the attack. He sighed, but the relief was instantly snatched away as something caught his sight; a small missile. A trail of white smoke curled behind it, coming from the side of his screen, and then jutting into Clark's back where an explosion burst into the air. The KLF was immediately knocked of its board, quickly receiving the graceful pull of gravity.

"Clark, dang it, hold on!" Eoin screamed as he twisted his KLF down. Wind ripped against the edges of his mech. He desperately fought against it, trying to think of anything that would give him more speed. But all he had was the sight of Clark falling faster towards the earth. A surge of fear stabbed into the puddle of his stomach, sending shivers across his skin.

"No, I can't reach him fast enough… I'll have to exhaust it all," with that, he pulled a level at his side. The back of his KLF exploded with a single stream of glowing flames. It propelled him forward, but ran out just as it started. "No… No!" He screamed just as his friend slammed against the ground.

With last minute thinking, he hit a side button that swerved him back into the air. The twist absorbed all the energy in his speed, gently loosing him to the air, and letting him crash back into the earth.

His vision was still sketchy as he awoke again. Due to his crash, the cockpit emergency lock activated. He was exposed to sky empty of battle and filled with grey clouds.

"They must still be fighting above the clouds," he muttered quietly. Then he jolted upright, his eyes scanning around the battlefield. It just triggered inside him as to why he was on the ground in the first place. "I have to find Clark, he's most likely wounded from the crash." Standing up, he surveyed everything. His eyes dabbled moved across a wild sea of ruined metal. Klf bits and pieces scattered about the field. This was a sight the he could only remember all too well, which he found odd as he continued to search.

"Wait, I've already seen this," he coughed and stepped forward. But instead of moving down, his foot collided with several small objects. His eyes snapped opened to see gravel crowding around his foot. Beside him walked a peaceful Eureka, and just beyond her was a blazing circle called the sun. While everything seemed so peaceful, he could feel his insides shaking from the experience.

"How in the," he muttered to himself. The place he just left had felt undeniably real. He could literally smell the heated air of his working equipment. Now he found himself walking back along the road, smelling the fresh new air, and embracing the cool atmosphere across his skin. And right next to him was Eureka with an utter expression of obliviousness, like nothing happened at all. But something did happen; only to him.

"Is something wrong Eoin?" Eureka's voice penetrated his thoughts. He turned his eyes from the sun to her. For a moment he decided whether or not he should actually tell her.

In the end, he decided it was safe not to, being he could never decide why he want to tell some one like her. "Yes, I'm alright. I was just thinking," he replied simply. His eye jerked to the gravel beneath them. The air comfortably moved its way around him, washing out the guck that was inside.

"I think we should stop," Eureka said from behind. Eoin turned around to see her holding her sides in what looked like pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I just need to rest. Besides, night is coming soon. I think I could use it sooner."

"Alright," he paused for a moment, still filtering out the emotions of his _vision. _"Here, put your arm around my shoulder," he said as he walked over next to her. For moment she stared at him, as if surprised by this act of charity.

Eoin quickly caught onto this hesitation and rolled his eyes inwardly. "Well, do you want the help or not?" He asked with apparent impatience.

"Yes, please." She quickly put her arm around his shoulder. Still, he was perturbed by her surprise. On their short journey he hadn't but any effort into showing kindness to her, it was neither his desire nor intention. Besides, he couldn't find a reason as to why he even should. But lately, things have been changing. He felt the urge to protect Eureka, the need to seek for her safety, and even now to make sure she was alright. He found it much easier to do this while she was asleep and completely unaware, but now she was quite awake and ready to notice his actions of kindness. This settingly none to well with his emotions.

Nonetheless, he would not give in to her reactions. There was something Eureka was doing, he had no doubt of it. But first he needed to know what.

"Come on," he grumbled.

The two turned towards the forest and walked a little ways in where they found a small crowded area. Little to any room could be found on the ground, but luckily the trunks of several trees made good back rests for both Eureka and Eoin.

Eoin carefully helped Eureka settle against a tree, and once done he proceeded to set up camp. He scavenged around the many tall trees that surrounded them, finding no difficulty in finding fuel for a fire. Once setup up, he sat down and pulled out his map. The journey ahead of them was still a long ways to go, and he wasn't anxious to continue this journey, especially not with Eureka. Because of her, and he wish he knew why, he began to second guess his own actions.

His eyes continued to travel across the withering map, but his mind could not keep his attention from his own thoughts. Eventually he began to wonder back to the words of Fin and what he had said.

"What if what I've believed all this time, is wrong?" he whispered much too quietly for Eureka to hear. Although as he glanced up, he could clearly see she was fast asleep. Continuing his search up, past the aging tree and dieing leaves, he noticed the sun had gone from the sky. His only source of light had become the small fire.

"I can't think about this now." Tired, he folded up the map and set it aside. "We have to travel more, a lot more. And now even I'm questioning what I've believed?" His head fell back against the tree, allowing his vision to capture the beautiful site of the night sky. The site bloomed before his vision into a beautiful bowl of glory. Every star shined with a twinkle that gently caught his attention. He thought he saw the leaves shifting in the winds, but they suddenly blurred and faded into blue puffs.

He blinked once, he blinked twice, and then let his head fall back down to the level. There was only one night where he could see the stara as clear as they were now. And that night, oddly enough, he could see right now.

Crinkled and tattered metal covered the face of the land with no mercy of room. A flare of nauseating fumes pushed into his nose, twisting at his stomach with every breath. Then his sight caught hundreds of small fires, all a remnant from the battle he had just participated in, the same battle where his friend had died. But from all these horrible sites, the one that scared him most was the sounds. He could hear cries in the distance, cries of help and sorrow. Among those cries were moans.

"So this is the end of the battlefield." Eoin whispered as he gazed out at the dark horizon. He knew what those cries were, they were the cries of survivors, all lost of hope. "They're all lost, we should probably gather into a group, search for supplies, or something. But even I feel like," he was silenced as he turned his head back. Behind him was the darkened cockpit of his good friend. He couldn't see inside, but he knew what remained inside. It was the corpse of his friend, and the very thought jittered his skin with cold spikes. He immediately leaped off the ruined KLF.

"He's gone, I get moving," he muttered, feeling cold inside. The crackles of broken computers abruptly echoed into his ears. Somehow the sound felt haunting and lonely. He gently turned back to the KLF he had just left where lights erratically flickered inside.

Finding it quite odd, he turned around and immediately picked up speed in his move away.

"The computer must of glitched on, or maybe the emergency power finally kicked in? That would explain those odd flickers," he stumbled while admitting it to himself.

The cold night air finally began to break the barrier of his body. The brim of his bones began to twitch wiht chill, slowly approaching the signs of shivering.

"Hello!" He called out into the deepening nothingness. All he got back were more yells and cries from wounded soldiers. But then he received another response, one that jumped started his heart and pushed him backwards with the sheer force of fear. In front of him was a broken down KLF, where a seamless figure leaped from its loom. It quietly rushed at him and then stopped swiftly.

"P.O.F.?" It whispered in a not so threatening voice, but in a rather calm female voice. Eoin frowned.

"No…" He replied, unsure whether that was a good or bad idea.

"Too bad, but something's better than nothing." Suddenly he felt a hand grip his and pull him to his feet. The figure was still shaded in the darkness around them. "Don't worry, I don't plan to kill you. My name is Sarah Hilis, a P.O.F. pilot, and a survivor of the battle we both fought in. Yours?" Eoin shook his head and faced the woman.

"I'm Eoin Machale, also a pilot." He buried the worry deep within himself, hoping to conceal any site of fear.

"Heh, kind of a deep voice you have there, don't you?" she commented in a playful manner.

"Never noticed." A nervous cough caught in his throat as he said so.

"Eh, not many people pay enough attention to their voice. You on the other hand seem perfectly calm, but just before you had fallen back like a monster was approaching you or something." He heard yet another laugh as she poked his chest. Her friendliness both confused and surprised him.

"I… guess so," he hesitantly said as they both started walking. The woman beside him walked casually and calmy.

"Well, Eoin, you're base is a long ways away from here, isn't it?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well," he could almost picture her smiling just by the tone of her voice, "my base is seeable from here. If you follow me, I'm sure I can get you to my base where you'll be taken care of. There ought to be a dead P.O.F. pilot around here that you can take a uniform from." Yet again he was completely shocked at everything the girl said.

"Wait, you're going to help me?" He stuttered to ask.

"Yes, we all need help in one way or another. I just find this is my opportunity to help you. We're only soldiers on the field, outside the field, we become who we really are." Her voice sounded too casual to Eoin.

Nonetheless, her words slill confused him, "what do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? I mean that when your back at home you become who you really are. Don't you have a family?"

"Well, yes,-"

"Then there you have it, they are who you are. When you're at home with them, you no longer have to put on the act of strength or willingness to die for your beliefs. And since there isn't any commanders, you aren't forced to be anyone but yourself. Guess one way of saying it is that out here there isn't someone making you something else. You get what I'm saying?" Eoin glanced at the dim ground.

"Not really," he muttered.

"Then here, look at what I'm doing now. Naturally I would kill you in battle, but sense this isn't battle, but actually a time for survival, we work together. Umm, well, I guess then what I mean is," she sighed, "We don't have to act the way we do inside battle that we do outside battle, understand?" Eoin paused to think about her words. After a moment or so, he nodded, but felt a slight brush of hesitation. All his life, or at least sense he could remember, he'd always been in the army. His only means of living and knowing was following orders and learning how to become a better fighter.

Although he questioned military means before, long before, when he had first been introduced to the military. Something about the way the soldiers moved by every whim of their commander, bothered him like nothing else. But soon the feeling disappeared, and he assumed every soldier felt this way. But if that was true, then why, he wondered, was this girl acting like no other soldier he's met.

"I understand what you mean," it crossed his mind that that was a lie. "But where else can you go outside the battle? There is a war going on, how can you be yourself if all you are is a soldier?" She promptly laughed at his question for sometime before answering.

"Come on, who would want to be a pure soldier?" Eoin jerked his head at the statement. "What a dreary life that would be, I wouldn't ever want to live like that, I think I would die!" She laughed again like their conversation was simple chat. For Eoin, it felt completely different. To him, it felt important. He couldn't shake the idea of a pure soldier from his mind. How was it possible to be otherwise? He'd followed ordrs exactly since he could remember.

"Maybe I don't understand, do you get to go visit your family?" He couldn't stop from asking.

"No, at least not for a few occasional years," her voice suddenly sounded depressed. "This war has gotten worse, especially with the beginning of the slave unit armies. They think this war will be known as the Slave Unit Wars. In other words, SUW." Her eyes turned grim as she said it, and she began to glance at the dirt that passed beneath their feet.

Eoin's eyes fell back down to the ground as well, while at the same time he considered all of the things she said. None of it made sense at all. He was the perfect soldier, or at least, a developing perfect soldier. Not for the fact he was good at what he does, but for the soul reason that he followed orders with perfect concise. Commanders feel loved a soldier who just followed orders. And that was his aim, to be come the perfect solider, to never die and always kill. His lot in life was none different. But then he couldn't help but wonder, _how was it possible to be otherwise?_ If a soldier wanted to survive, then they had to become the perfect soldier. If Clark had followed order without hesitation, he wouldn't have died.

Sarah stared forward and glanced at the stars above, which shined brighter and clearer than she had ever seen. "Eoin, why is it you fight?" She asked for no clear reason. He twisted his head, searching for an answer, but finding nothing. So his only option was not to respond at all. "I'll tell you why I'm fighting, why we all fight." His head immediately shot up with hope, as if she were about to tell him the answer he longed to hear. In all hopes that he was right. "I'm fighting for home," he had none of that, "for my family, "neither was that the case, "for the safety of my friends," she finished. A small tinge of irritation crept inside his nerves as she noted every reason she fought, yet none were his. He had no home, no true family, and now, no friends.

"Then what does that make me?" He asked aloud. The female solider frowned and glanced at him.

"What do you mean? Don't you have a family, or a home?"

"A home? No, I don't. Even if I do, I don't think I've ever seen it before. But my family?" he closed his eyes and envisioned his father and brother. All he could see was a family who could fend for themselves. His family he knew very well could do without him, despite the fact that they loved him. There was no way he could be fighting for them. "They can take care of themselves. I didn't fight this war because I wanted to, but it's the only place where I'm," he struggled to get the word passed his lips, as if saying it would be a slap in the face to his family, whom he loves, "useful."

"Useful?" She mocked in disgust. "That's cruel, how could they send you off just for that?" Eoin quickly shook his head.

"No, you don't understand. I love them, and although I hate it, they did it for me. This war is the only place where I can live. So what is there for me?" He sighed and stopped. Sarah followed the same pursuit. There came a moment of silence between the two of them. It was then that the moans, crackle, and cries flowed back into their ears.

Sarah wouldn't make eye contact with him. He could see that she didn't know what else to say, and quite frankly, he didn't suspect her to say anything at all. But just as that thought hit his mind, she opened her mouth.

"What about friends?" She whispered the careful question.

"Heh." It surprised even him that he laughed. Maybe, he thought, because of how ironic it was that the question was being asked now. "He died, I tried to save him, but he died." Yet another silence issued from the answer. Eoin was beginning to find this conversation excruciatingly repetitive.

"I'm sorry," she said at last. He closed his eyes at the soft stroke of pain that apology caused. Clark was gone, forever gone from the world, and now he had to face that fact head on.

Attempting to relinquish the pain, he turned forward, ready to continue.

"What does it matter?" With all his might he tried to convince himself. "I can get on in life without friends, can't I? So now I have none-," he immediately stopped when a soft hand suddenly grip his own. He turned in complete and utter confusion to see Sarah staring at him with a powerful gaze. After all the walking and talking, he could finally see her face in full. And when he did, every dreary thought, every mucky feeling, faded.

She was young, that much was obvious to him. Her hair was a cozy brown that gently curled passed her ears. The edge of her cheeks were rounded, giving her eyes the perfect, slick gaze it deserved. He had never felt a stare dig so deep into his very being. Not even from his own leading officers. And her face was so very close to his, till the point where he could even feel her breath on his chin. Last of all, he noticed the soft teal tint in her eyes. Teal, a color he found in few others.

When she opened her mouth, there was no possible way he could keep from listening. She held his hand with a tight grip, and her eyes were searing into his own.

"Wrong, absolutely wrong! You do have a friend," she smiled, "you have me."

He felt confused at the sudden action, but the word "friend" drowned the feeling with another. It was as if someone had taken a warm blanket and wrapped it around his body. The feeling filled the tips of his fingers and the brim of his toes, until the very feeling was about to burst from his ears.

Then, without warning, he smiled. The only other person that made him smile was his own friend, Clark. He knew then, that this feeling was no lie.

"Thank you," he loved the muscles on his cheeks stretching after having been still for so long. When he caught her smile too, he suddenly twisted away and muffled his smile. He noticed her laugh as did so.

"You don't need to be ashamed of it."

"I'm not ashamed, I'm just," he felt like the truth was already out and refused to let him lie.

"Sure, sure." They started walking again, the moon overhead softly hovering. Eoin couldn't shake the comfort he felt within, but in the end he decided he didn't want to. His only true friend was Clark, everyone else were occasional talk to people. Having a fried again was oddly, refreshing.

"Well," Eoin half mutter, partly grunted, "how long do you suspect it will take?"

"A couple of days, depending on who will run into. Who knows, we might run into a few other people to help along the way."

"Did they even send any search parties?"

"I think I saw a few flying somewhere up there. P.O.F. though, no U.F."

"No U.F." He whispered to himself. Sarah shot a questioning glance at him.

"So," she began rather plainly.

"It doesn't matter, there must be some explanation," although he didn't believe it himself. Clark's words echoed somewhere in the hollow places of his mind. 

"Eoin, haven't you ever thought that maybe," she seemed hesitant to say what she wanted. He continued to stare forward and wait. "Maybe the U.F. is wrong?" He instantly twisted his head in her direction, and she quickly shied away from his impressive gaze.

"We're wrong?" His teeth began to roughly grind. He knew full well what the P.O.F. had done, and whenever one brought up such a topic, he felt anger subtly grow.

"Yes, why do you guys fight us?"

"Why? Why else? You people steal everything from us. Half of our bases, half of our ships, half of our food supplies! And you continue to steal even beyond that! That and you work without any organization, claiming lands as your own, stealing things from us along the way." Sarah turned her head away, there was no lie in that. But she didn't hesitate to turn back.

"And what about you people? You still rule by an old system. The only thing that has changed is that there are no longer sages to throw in their occasional whims." Now her voice began to rise. "You didn't say it directly, but the U.F. is trying to take us back into rule. Why? Because we work differently!" They both gnashed their teeth at each other and stopped walking.

Within a flip of an action, they turned from each other.

"Thief, incompetent…" He muttered.

"Cruel, unjust…" She replied.

Both stared in opposite directions. Eoin felt anger burning inside him, he refused to believe what the U.F. was doing was wrong. He had been with them for three years, and before then his father and brother taught him their just cause. The U.F. was attempting to sustain order on the earth again, there was no wrong in that. Order brought peace, peace meant no wars. If there were no wars he could be something else than a solider. So he didn't care what the cost was, he was willing to fight for it.

A sudden thought seized his mind. Maybe that was what he was fighting for. It made sense. He fought so he no longer had to fight. When this war ended, there would be peace.

"Of course, that's why we fight! It's what they always told me, it's why I fight!" Excitement wrung at his body, forcing him to shake with its pull. Sarah stared at him as he turned with a subtle smile. "We fight for peace, that's our reason—my reason!" He was suspecting her to smile for him, or at least with him. Because now he had finally seized his reason for being. But instead all he received was a look of sheer disgust.

"It's true what's said about the U.F…." She said in a calm voice. "You're all the same, corrupting a just cause with your own views." Eoin wanted to answer, but he never had the chance.

A flood of bouncing moons suddenly turned around the corner, blinding them with white light. When his eyes adjusted, he finally realized that the little moons where actually flashlights.

"Who's there?" A man's voice called.

"Wait, look at the girl there, she's P.O.F., FIRE!" Before Eoin had the chance to protest, a shot rang the air. He turned as fast as she fell. A brief moment connected between the two as his eyes fell in with hers. They both stared at each other, one never understanding the other, one slowly falling to nothing.

But they did have one key, one last glimpse of hope, and that was friendship. And he thought he should cry, he thought he should feel depressed, but he felt neither. Instead his mouth formed words he wish never formed.

"For peace." The words knocked him from his dazed state. When he opened his eyes, the camp ground returned to the place it originated, a gathering of trees and bushed in all directions. The cold night air drifted across his shivering skin. It was colder then he remembered. Maybe it was him, he pondered.

His mind fell at the girl across from him, Eureka. She was curled up against a tall brown tree which brushed puzzled shadows across her smooth cheeks.

All these years, even through training, he never questioned what he was told to believe. Occasionally the thoughts hit his mind. Some being ideas others had suggested or complained, but this wasn't the same. This time was different. It was this time that he felt what he used to only think. He felt doubt for the first time in ten years. Since he could remember he always depended on his feelings, and those occasional thoughts triggered nothing, until now.

He continued to glance at Eureka, still wondering and thinking. Where could the answer be? But only the echoes of the wind would communicate with his ears. He stood up and walked over to where she slept. Her breathing was softer than he had ever thought possible, like every breath defined the meaning of pristine silence.

"Why can't I understand this feeling you've force me to feel? How is it that you make me change my mind when no one else has?" He shook his head. "I've thought about these things before, but they've never bothered how I've felt. Ten years I've been taught to believe, and I have believed that what I'm doing is right. But you, what is wrong with you!" He strained to keep from talking any louder within his whisper. "I was happy being the what I was, I don't care if it was cruel. It wasn't always cruel, I was never cruel. I was being just for what I believe," he felt a jolt within himself, "but then I feel like I'm wrong. And if I'm wrong, then who's right? Ten years I've been told that its right, and they told me why, so I believe. So how can I be wrong now? I wish we'd never met, and for some reason," he dropped his head and swallowed a deep breath. And with one simple motion, her eyes opened.

Eoin jerked back in sheer shock, almost tumbling over the smoldering ember pile. Eureka followed his every movement while standing up at the same time.

"You're awake?" he gasped.

"I have been for a while," she partly muttered as she enclosed on him, each step hardly emitting a tap of a sound.

"So, you heard everything I said?" The questioned singed the inside of his body. If she heard, then he knew all was forlorn, because now she knew how he felt.

She nodded. His body jerked with annoyance, then fear, then confusion. All of these emotions sealed his mouth and left him speechless as Eureka slowly approached him. With every step she made forward, he made one backwards, but that was soon forfeited as he backed up against a tree. She stopped as well, just gazing at him with a silent stare that he couldn't decipher.

"Eoin, I knew that there was something strange about you, I knew it when I first saw you. And I've tried to explain why before, but…" Images of the night he had slapped her hand sped across his eyes. "But I knew I couldn't be wrong. You look so much like him, and you are like him. I know now from what you said." A beautiful smile shaped her lips. He felt himself jolt slightly at the site of it, as if their entire surroundings had sunken out of view. Now, and only now, he could feel only himself and her.

"Who?" He asked in a quaky voice. He cursed himself for revealing his obvious tension, and wondered why ten years of training and finally failed him for the first time.

"Renton," she answered back in that sweet voice he had heard only so many times. It continued to pull the area around them into nothingness, leaving him and her more fully alone.

"Why him, how could I possible resemble him? I've never even seen a picture of the guy before." Eureka paused. That did seem odd, but then, her face rose up with the spark of understanding.

"Wouldn't that make sense?" she pressed, taking yet another step at him. He was loosing ground fast in this battle, and disappointed to find the bark of a tree pushing him back at his step away.

"They don't want you to remember anything. A picture of that time could bring back memories. And you told me yourself that you had a sixteen year memory loss. Doesn't that make any sense to you?" Finally Eoin gritted his teeth, feeling his motion reaching a singular mode.

"Are you delusional?" His glare was so dominating, that Eureka couldn't help but take a step back herself. "I'm Eoin, EOIN MACHALE!" He yelled, shaking every bit of her insides with his voice. "For ten years I've served for the U.F., followed their every heed of command, killed and saved people's lives!" Eureka turned her head away as his eyes continually dug deeper into her own.

You're suddenly trying to convince me that I'm some one else? I do have a family, and they've loved me-," he stopped as he recalled a far distant memory. There he could remember his father staring down at him in the medical bed. But the image was gone, and he frustratingly shook his head and shot his gaze back at her. "There may be a few lucky coincidences, but there is no way I could be him!" He shoved his finger off to the side into nowhere. Eureka looked both defenseless and weak, but Eoin didn't care in the lease, for she only cared about a person that was no longer alive. She didn't care for him or his own thoughts, and worst of all she was actually trying to convince him that all he believed was for not.

"But-,"

"But what?!" he yelled so loudly, that Eureka flinched back as if she had been slapped. Even at this, Eoin refused to stand down.

Through the impeding silence, Eureka turned her eyes to him. They stared at each other, speechless. Eoin's eyes opened wide with raging fury.

"Do you believe the U.F. is right?

"Yes," Eoin answered sternly.

"Then you stand for what they did in the past?" Eoin frowned at this new question.

"What do you mean in the past?"

"Then what do you know about the second summer of love?" She was beginning to gain strength again.

"I've heard of it a couple of times before." He shrugged to what he thought was nothing important.

"The second summer of love was what saved the world. Two people sacrificed themselves so that the Coralians could leave the planet. Afterward the planet shattered, revealing earth beneath." Eureka stopped to completely absorb the look on his face. He was staring back at her like she was a woman who had just gone insane.

"You think I would believe this?"

"Why would I lie?"

Eoin laughed, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Because you're a large ally to the P.O.F!" He rashly threw his voice at her.

"And because I am, you believe I'm trying to kill you?" She asked in a cross between anger and urgency.

Eoin paused before answer. "Yes… It's obvious you're at least trying to turn me to your side."

"What makes you think I am?" Her own voice shot right back at his.

"THIS!" his voice exploded across the forest. Eureka's eye's appeared to glow from her wide eyes. "This thing you're trying to do to me! You're trying to convince me that I'm someone else! Look at it from my perspective for three seconds. Don't you think you sound a little crazy?" Eureka did pause, but Eoin saw she wasn't going to back down, not soon anyhow.

Soon she raised her head again and took her own turn at staring him with a hard gaze. He, however, was unaffected.

"You have sixteen years missing in your memory." He nodded, this was the only thing he had on him.

"I can't remember anything before I was sixteen. Last I remember I was badly bruised, and really dark, so what? There is an explanation for that," he swiftly chucked in. "I was fighting in battle, and my KLF was severely damaged,-"

"You were fighting? Where?" Eureka revealed a questioning look. She obviously saw something he didn't.

"I can't remember, one of the first battles of the Slave Unit Wars."

"You were fighting at the age sixteen?" Eureka instantly caught his moment of pause. She smiled brightly and took a step forward; a sign that she was gaining ground, and to her own pleasure, he took a step back.

"I was, well- the battle had- or I mean it was a desperate time for the U.F…. They needed everything they could get." Everything he said tripped out of his mouth unsurely.

"The U.F. was at their prime during that period of the war. If anything, the P.O.F. was in their weakest form." This stopped Eoin completely. "You're father told you what happened, what did he say?" He thought it over and over in his head, visualizing everything his father had told him on that unforgettable day. Yet, the more he pondered it, the less he could find a way out her statement.

"He said that I was in battle, my KLF practically demolished. And that," he attempted to say, but his voice dwindled into nothing.

Eureka's eyes grew bright and she advanced. With her every step forward, Eoin took one step back, until they both stop as he fell back into the tree.

"I'm regretting what I said," he sharply inhaled a breath, stress formulating all about his head with thought. Eureka didn't respond, she only continued to faze at his eyes with wonder and excitement, causing him to feel slightly more desperate. He had no idea what to do. She had him trapped in logic while he struggled to find an explanation out.

"Can I see your left arm?" She asked, and Eoin couldn't help but stare in confusion. It was only after a prolonged, hesitated moment that he lifted his arm.

Eureka took it gently. He noticed her fingers slightly shaking. All he could do was wait as she stared, but then she let go and gazed back up.

"Eoin, before I look, I want to prove something to you." Eoin didn't respond. "Before you lost your memory," he rolled his eyes in irritation. "You got a horrible infection in your left arm." Eoin froze, every drop of sweat on his skin turned ice cold. He feared what she would say next, and tried with all his might to keep a shiver running up his spin. His only option was to stare in nervous wonder as her lips formed unforgiving words.

"That infection grew worse and you wouldn't tell me. You tried to keep the secret from me as long as you could. I finally found out, but it was already too late. After we found the cure, five bumps were left on your arm. Mischa said that you might have scars." Her hand reached for his arm, and no matter how desperately he begged every muscle in his arm to pull away, none would budge.

Eureka slowly began to pull back his shredded sleeve. Once done, she found exactly what she had been looking for. Five small webbed like marks purged from the surface of his skin. Her eyes appeared to sparkle with delight as she took his arm in her hands and carefully weaved her fingers around each mark, just to make sure what she was seeing was real.

"N-no," Eoin said with trouble. "That is from a surgery I had when I was seven."

Eureka's head shot up instantly; at last all the pleasure in her face disappeared. "You remember?"

"No, I was," he looked around uncomfortably, "my father told me." Eureka twisted her head at him and smiled again.

"That's the answer," she lowered her head back down to his arm and restarted her examination again.

Eoin rapidly blinked several times. It was unreal, all of it completely unreal. Everything he believed was being twiddled around her curious fingers, just simply tossed aside like nothing. He didn't know what to believe anymore. And Eureka's only reaction to him was staring at his arm in wonder and excitement, like it was made of gold, while he felt the world had abandoned him when he needed it most.

He shook his head, he couldn't believe it, he was Eoin Machale, _EOIN MACHAL!_ He screamed in his own thoughts. So there was no possible way he could be this other person, and Eureka only concerned herself with the ghostly apparition he resembled.

But what if, he feared to wonder, all believed was wrong? His father and brother were liars, the U.F. was the wrong side to choose, and all he believed was just a large manipulated lie? His dreams, his hopes, whatever they be, were for nothing. He couldn't believe it. How was it possible that he was this someone else?

His head fell back against the tree and he closed his eyes. The stress was crushing his mind. He didn't want to believe this was true, he almost felt like crying, but he knew that could never happen. The privilege and ability to cry was not worthy of him; a walking, breathing, and destructive lie. But he couldn't believe it was true, there was no way.

Eureka finished her examination and raised her head to see a cringing pain on Eoin's face. Her brows contorted with concern as his teeth clenched in anger.

"Eoin? Eureka whispered. He dropped his head back down, meeting her eyes.

"What?" he asked, tired of it all. But then he discovered the look of concern on her face. First he was confused, but then surprised at her look.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a perfect tone of caring. Suddenly all of the stress fled from his mind, releasing him. But he didn't want to let go, this stress was the only thing keeping him from believing the impossible. It was his saving rope.

But as he fought, the calm had already taken control. All other raging thoughts slid away. Somehow Eureka cleared his mind, and he wondered how that was possible when she was the cause of his distress.

"Why?" he asked and dropped his head, giving up. Eureka reached forward and lifted his head again.

"Watch," she whispered. He nodded, already unable to tare his concentration from her dazzlingly slick eyes and beautiful smile. Yet again she was doing this to him, somehow entrancing him in a way he could never understand.

She reached behind her back and an unzipping sound quietly emitted. The sound moved down with her hand. Eoin's eyes burst wide open and a cough barely stopped from escaping. He had no idea what she was doing, and couldn't begin to believe what he thought she might be doing. All the while, Eureka kept smiling.

It was only then that he noticed it. A green and purple light began to creep up the trees behind her. It continued to seep into the leaves and crawl around the bark in the woods. Eoin stared in wonder as the light only became brighter, and the shadows dripped down and flew back up with every one of Eureka's breaths.

"What are you-," his lips refused to move as he felt her finger upon them. Eureka then closed her eyes and brought her hands together. For that single moment, Eoin felt a silence embrace his entire body, while the majestic glows swooned the area into a silent unmoving calm. Behind her the colors swirled coolly against the trees. He was afraid that even his breath would disturb the pure peace that surrounded them; his breath being the only audible thing around them.

Eureka lowered her hand and stared back up at Eoin. Without warning, wings sprouted from Eureka's back, flashing the area in a glow of green and purple. She inhaled slightly, still unaccustomed to the feeling of using her wings. She twitched slightly, and her wings curled and bent, appearing glad to be free again.

Once they settled strait, Eoin was left with a site to behold. Eureka's body was partly silhouetted against her own glow. Her piercing violet eyes cut through the darkness and connected directly with his. Her wing then framed her body in beautiful colors, climbing a few good feet in sheer size above her head.

"How is it you?" Eoin stared in utter awe.

"I have a friend, one you once knew, who specially designed my clothes to hide my wings and their glow," she gently smiled at his admiration. Swirls flowed inside the wings, and perfect curves traveled across the edges until the butterfly shape resounded with magnificence.

"His name was Irik." Eoin heard her, but his eyes were still on the wings.

After a moment, Eureka frowned.

"Do you remember anything?"

Only this once did he regret to say, "No." He shook his head and met her eyes. They stared for a long time. Thoughts trampled about his mind, mostly questions. He felt he should be surprised or scared, but just the basking of her beauty washed away any thought or emotion.

"What are you?" he had to ask. She appeared to cringe slightly.

"Renton wouldn't have said that," she whispered and met his eyes. "But it has to be you." She took another step forward and took his left arm. Her hand felt across the scars again. Goosebumps formed on his skin at the softness of her fingers. She gripped it, raised it up, and placed his hand softly against his cheek. Eoin's hand twitched away at the touch, but was quickly pushed back against her smooth clean skin.

She opened her eyes and stared back into his.

"It has to be you." Her voice wisped through the air. As they stared at each other, Eoin suddenly felt a warm pressure building in his head. He couldn't stop his mind from grasping every inch of Eureka's full blown face. She let go of his hand and enclosed on him, but stopped only inches away. His breath quickened only barely.

He studied everything in her face, her glassy violet iris that bloomed like a rose in her eyes. Her creamy white skin, her longish teal hair which breathed sleek and flow like a curling wave, and then her now parted lips.

"You have his eyes, his hair, his face," she mouthed. Eoin didn't notice, his attention flew with the odd building pressure in his head.

"This-," he could only start to say before Eureka started forward again, and he could almost feel it, but the feeling disappeared.

Lights poured in around the trees, quickly followed by a rush of cracking leaves and twigs. Eoin and Eureka separated, surrounded by dozens of white bouncing balls that continued to torment them.

It took Eoin a moment discovered they were flashlights.

"Get down on the ground, don't move!" A voice yelled, male.

"I knew it, I told you the camera was picking up a really weird glow in the tree. But what in the world is that thing?" Eoin could tell the voice was questioning Eureka.

"More of Cill's men?" He heard Eureka ask. His eyes finally adjusted to the flash light, and he could see everyone was accompanied by a gun. After a few more moments, he noticed the men were dressed in uniforms.

"No," he answered back and continued to squint through the light. Every one of them appeared like stalking shadows. He squinted his eyes only barely beginning to pick them out. Then he caught a glimpse of their tags. He frowned as no surge of joy came, but instead he felt nothing, nothing at all.

"Their U.F." He announced. Eureka forced her face at Eoin, noticing there was no surprise or worry on his face.

"Hey, wait a second, that's Eureka!" A girl almost screamed her name from among the soldiers.

"She's been missing for what, one- two months? What in Coralian's name is she doing here?" Another man curiously asked.

"Then who's with her?" A black figure moved forward and gripped Eoin's shoulder. "What, he's U.F.!" A series of gasps and "what's?" circled around them.

Eoin couldn't take it anymore. "Yes, I'm U.F., why are you people on this continent?" He roughly pulled his arm from the other's grip. There was a temporary silence before anyone answered. People stared at him for some time.

"We are base 1, sector Tenner A." Eoin's eyes shot wide open.

"You are? You're Tenner A? I have been searching for this base for a long time!" he lowered his head. At last, he had found what he had been looking for all this time. "I thought I had missed the base or… something," he smiled and lifted his head back up.

"What do you mean, Eoin?" Eureka asked. Eoin turned to see a look of hurt on her face. He wanted to smile, to spite her, but the muscles in his lips wouldn't move on their own. So he forced it at her, and Eureka flung her head away, eyes closed, as if he had thrust a knife into her chest.

"I'm afraid we can't take you as an ally Eoin. You will have to come as a prisoner, along with her." The same man who had gripped him said. Eoin abruptly twisted his head in shock.

"What do you mean 'as a prisoner?'"

"You don't have the evidence to prove that you're a U.F. pilot. Only your uniform claims that." Before anyone had realized it, Eoin whipped out a small card.

"This is my card with the date and time I was initiated as an official U.F. pilot. Read the info, it will tell you everything you need to know." Eoin stood strait and placed his arms behind his back. He could see Eureka staring in surprise at his stance, this being the first time he had acted so professionally in their journey.

"Your name is Eoin Machale?" The soldier' voice was covered with surprise. Eoin only replied with a decent nod.

"Wait, Machale, Machale's son?" Another asked with a sliver of fear.

"I- I apologize Mr. Machale, of course you will be given the best quarters." The man scratched his forehead, obviously confused.

"No thank you, one of the soldier's personal accommodations will work."

"How did you end up with her?" One of the lesser bewildered soldiers asked.

"I was assigned with a group to confront the Night Iris. They countered our attack on full, my only mission was to fight Xellien."

"I heard Eoin Machale was one of the top pilots in all of the U.F. air forces. It doesn't surprise me, he is the son of Machale, one of the ten leading high admirals." One man whispered to another, Eoin glanced at them and then looked forward again before continuing.

"I directly fought with the Xellien, which as I'm sure you know is piloted by Eureka." He glanced at her to see she was still staring down at the ground. Her eyes were open with blaring shock to his words. "We fought and ended in a stalemate." One man laughed.

"So you are one of the top pilots?"

Eoin ignored him, "We both left our ships and took our pistols. I was planning to kill her but my ha-," he immediately stopped and frowned down at the ground.

"My what, what happened?" The soldier in front asked quizzically. Eoin moved his eyes back up, opened his mouth, closed it again, and then raised both his brows.

"The gun jammed. She fired, I lost my balance and the gun slipped out of my hand. She followed me to see if I was alright, and just then our LFOs malfunctioned. We couldn't… leave." The soldier gave him an odd look, seeming to find this story of his a little hard to believe. Eoin's response was a short shrug. "I was just as surprised. Neither LFO would work. Eureka and myself came to an agreement that we both had to work together to survive." He let out a brief sigh. "We found a map and I remember there was a U.F. base along the western coast. I decided to find the base, and where I thought it was… was wrong." He finished and continued to stare forward like any other soldier would.

"Impressive story, definitely one that will be going down in the records." The man all the while was glancing at the card. "But according to this, you are Eoin Machale. There is another way to make sure." He flicked his hand at one of the men while his eyes wandered over the card. Eoin watched as one of the soldiers broke rank and handed him a small device. The leading officer quickly slid the card through the device the soldier was holding.

"What does it say?" He asked. A momentary paused followed, but the soldier let a smile break free.

"Yes, it's him, the card checks out." The soldier said a little too excitedly. In reaction, the leading officer turned around and grinned.

"Well, I never thought I would meet a person as famous as you are. Neither did I believe I would meet a person especially as famous as her." His eyes drifted to Eureka, who was still staring at the ground mindlessly, eyes wide enough to make him believe they were about to fall out. "Yes, she's definitely the one you see in the magazines. The P.O.F. continued to claim that it was her and the boy who saved the world. And just to top it off, she's also the one and only coralian known to be in human form." Eoin jerked his head at the captain's words. Everything he said traveled parallel to Eureka's exact words.

"Jeck, or I mean, sir," one of the female soldiers perked, "what are we going to do now? We're not just going to stand here and keep squabbling, are we?" The man in charge sighed.

"Yes, I know Thiena, I know. But it's not as if this kind of thing happens very often," he laughed, "or at all for that matter. If that is the case, take Eureka away, and of course you may accompany us Eoin. It still surprises me you don't want our higher quarters, but however it is you want it, you'll have it" The soldier turned around and started off. Two men rushed forward and roughly snatched Eureka from the ground, while heaving her into the air as if she were nothing more than useless baggage. Eoin bit his tongue, stopping it from yelling as they harshly dragged Eureka across the murderous ground.

He absorbed a breath and watched with twisting feelings. It took the notion of someone's hand on his shoulder to make him realize he was motionless. When he turned his head, he noticed it was the soldier named Thiena.

"Are you alright, Mr. Machale?" The soldier asked, quickly retracting her arm to her side.

"Yes," he muttered and continued on. The girl watched him flinch away from dangling leaves. She also noticed his eyes stiffly watching Eureka being dragged away.

"Thiena!" A voice yelled from the leaving group.

"I got it! I'm coming, geez!" She yelled right back and followed through the swarm of leaves and branches.

Eoin stepped through the metallic halls. It had been some time since he had walked in a place so clean. He felt slightly guilt wearing such a tattered uniform, even as others passed wearing clothing that looked spectacularly new, and he could find his cloths gawking back at him from the reflecting in the metal.

Yet none of this could unhinge his thoughts from what truly haunted him. A feeling that was crawling deeper and deeper into his stomach, almost to the point where he felt like slamming his head in the wall, just to relieve himself of the odd pain.

Eureka, he knew that had to be the cause, she must have done something. But then the thoughts of her just before they were captured fled back into his thoughts, capturing him in a loop that he couldn't escape. Her wings, her eyes, her face in all twisted around his mind over and over again. He desperately wanted to know how to free himself, and then again, never wanted to do such a thing.

"Eoin, your room is here," the soldier politely noted. Eoin abruptly stopped and shook his head. He nodded and turned inside.

"Eoin, sir, is there anything I can get you?" Eoin turned his head finally realizing it was the same female soldier from before, Thiena.

He momentarily processed her thoughts, and then shook his head without a word. But just before she left, he felt his body take action for him.

"Wait," he said tightly. The woman stopped and turned around.

"What do you want?" She smiled kindly. He wondered whether it was apart of the uniform or genuine, impossible to tell.

"Do you know what a coralian is?" Her face immediately submerged in surprise.

"You don't know?" she asked, tilting her heading forward with interest. Eoin glanced at the ground uncomfortably, the question coming at him as something he would rather not answer, but one he knew to be unavoidable at this point.

"Yes, we'll just say that I've lived a sheltered life." Somehow he found that as a large understatement, but he figured the less she knew the better.

"Apparently," she muttered as she entered the room and sat in front of him. "The coralians are the causes of the first and second summer of love. They used to cover this planet, but by some odd phenomenon, most of the shell broke away which revealed earth beneath. The P.O.F. keep going on about how it was the Eureka girl and Renton Thurston who had broken the shell and saved the world. Yeah, it's true that Dewey was the smartest of guys. He tricked everyone into thinking he was going to save us all, when all he was really doing was getting more powerful," she laughed, "kind'a funny."

Eoin did not find a single spec of humor inside her words.

"So it's true," he breathed as if the words had been long since inside him.

"What is?"

"Nothing, is it true that she's a coralian?"

"If the wings aren't proof enough, Mr. Machale, than I'm afraid I can't show you anything else." She continued to smile at him. He nodded gingerly, then slammed his eyes shut and violently shook his head. "Eoin?" The girl frowned at him.

"Get out, go, just leave the room," he said in a rush, whipping his hand at the door. The soldier got up, startled, and slowly made her way to the door. "Get out now!" he yelled and stood up. Instead of looking frightened, the girl emerged with a sour face and ran out of the room. Eoin ran and locked the door. Sweat dribbled over his cheeks and nose, sliding off and pounding against the floor bellow. Each drop released a splat, almost as if he could hear them exploded within his ear and pushing out the feeling of time, leaving him to wonder whether it ever existed. When he turned around, he leaned against the door and glanced across the room, everything shifted slowly as he did so.

Time, it lost its grip. Everything was moving slower than he knew it should. He lifted his hand to only see it slowly rising to his face, and then he wiped the sweat which continued to build layers on his skin, slick cool layers with snatched to the press of his fingers.

"It's true, everything she said, isn't it?" He begged and slid down into a sitting position. "She told me she was the one, I didn't believe her, but then I heard it from someone else. But does that make it true?" His mind processed the words quickly, but his mind computed every thought carefully.

"It's been ten years sense my lost memory. My father told me everything was alright. He treated me with love, like I was his real son! It's impossible, it can't be true that he's not my father. Then there's my brother, the man I've always looked up to as my example to follow. He told me everything about my past, everything I asked without hesitation. But now even he is gone, dead along with his lover."

Then, what about the proof? Eureka some how knew that I had four scars on my arm. But even she could have looked that up on medical records, couldn't she?" He threw himself to his feet and carried his legs to his bed. Upon reaching it, he fell and collapsed into its soft care.

"What about Clark, one of my last friends who died thanks to a stray P.O.F. missile. I can still remember it perfectly, just as it flew from the east… East?" With an immediate rush, he twisted around in his bed and sat up. Sweat flicked off his brows and dissipated to nothing. "The east? Why, how is it possible that I didn't think of this before?" His breath quickened, and more bulbs of sweat slid down the edges of his face. "That missile, and the distance of the P.O.F., they were at least twenty miles away. And if the missile came from the east, it came from our own ranks. But why?" He dived into his memories, trying to remember everything, every detail, every word, of every moment before and after his death. Than something clicked, a tiny memory from long ago.

"Eoin," a rough voice called somewhere in front of him. He lifted his head to see his long gone commander, the same man that taught him everything about being a soldier, but also the same man that quit without reason.

"Yes?" His eyes tiredly matched with his commanders. He sat in one of the countless lunch chairs which filled the room. His commander, standing straight, yet holding an odd look, turned his head. Just as he did so, Eoin saw something he had never yet before seen his commander, and that was stress. And all he could ask while exploring the face was why?

"Eoin, you're a good soldier. Your grades lack a great deal, I'm not going to hesitate in saying that you slack more than a pile of rotten cheese." Eoin frowned. "Forget the bad analogy, that isn't why I'm here to talk to you. The point is, you follow orders without a second of hesitation, but I've always noticed something about you that's worried me." Eoin couldn't help but feel tense the second he heard those words. Was this the same commander that had yelled at Clark and him no more than two weeks ago?

"Listen carefully, Eoin. Don't think it's wrong to question." The man said with a great amount of effort. At this time Eoin was convinced it might be time to call a doctor. Whoever this man was, it couldn't be his commander, despite that every feature and tone of voice was the same. But the words he produced were strangers to him.

"Clark died, and sacrifices are necessary within a war, we would be doomed without them. But, sometimes a sacrifice can be-," he stopped and broke eye contact, the first time Eoin had ever seen him do such a thing. "Sometimes a sacrifice may be unnecessary." The commander turned around and left, not another word would be heard from him as he passed through the door.

"That was seven years ago," Eoin laughed as he realized he was sitting in his quarters again. "He left only a few days before telling me that, and two weeks after Clark's death. Why didn't I put the two together? They killed Clark? No, I can't believe that." He furiously stood up and walked back to the door.

"There was no reason to kill Clark. Then if that's true, why would it seem?" Words ceased as the thought of realization took his mind. "That's why, Clark new something. Those words he said to me before he died, something he had always been wondering about me. The something I needed. Necessary sacrifice? What about that girl? She died without questions, why did they do that? Because she was a threat as well to the something I need not know?" His breath sped up again. "Does everyone know something I don't, something about me they refuse to tell me? What is it?" He slammed his fist into the door, releasing a bang that knocked a lamp off the table in the corner. Eoin slowly turned his head to see it spraying the ceiling in a mixture of yellow.

"It's broken," he muttered as the light began to flicker. "Or maybe, everything is broken, and no one wants to fix it. Except for…" He barely lifted his head, eyes widening. "Do I want to believe? Everything she said, was it true? Am I willing to give her up after all she's taught me?" He turned to the door, staring at it, knowing it was decision he had to make. "No, ten years I've believed, I can't turn back now after just a month." He spoke tiredly, but his fingers twitched and his whole body quivered. The sweat on his brow continued drip. Drip after drip.

"Do I want to believe in a lie?" He asked and faced the door again. "One of these ends is the lie. For ten years I've followed order from my commanders without hesitation. That's what a good soldier would do." His breath slowed to an almost calm halt. "I've killed without hesitation, people I wasn't even sure deserved to die. All I knew is that they were a necessary sacrifice. If it was needed, then I shot. Now I can only think of one other person who isn't like that. And it's her." The image of Eureka being dragged by her withering wrist forced him to shiver. He turned back to the room and searched. Lying on his bed was a neatly folded uniform, just for him.

He walked over and changed into the clothing. His hands snuggly tucked the belt holster back around his waist. Gently he rested his hand on his gun, letting its hard shell brush against his fingers.

"What do I want to live?" He asked himself again. When he could hear no other answer, he snatched the pistol and started for the door, his feet picking up a new kick.

"No, I won't seek anyone else's answers any longer. It's time I decided for myself what to do. For once in my life I'll give myself my own orders. I'm sick of this lie." He clenched his teeth while charging through the door, gun in hand. Ready to do what had to be done.

Soldiers only gave a brief nod as he passed by. He quickly decided it would be best to keep his pistol in its holster, at least until it was safe to pull it back out again. Until then, he would have to keep himself discreet. Although that was increasingly difficult when the very people he tried to avoid kept giving him looks of awe.

"The great Machale, everyone look, he's waltzing down the halls," he spat under his breath. "Yes, let's admire the walking lie. The first lie to believe even he was the truth." He laughed, which received a few odd glances from a huddled group of soldiers. He resumed a formal stance. "They said they took her down to one of the soldier quarters, but what was the number?" his voice whispered as to let no one else hear.

"T9, that's right!" Grinning, he turned down of the many intersections and walked.

During the time of travel, he crossed by many people. Some where of the same group he found, most faces he hoped never to see again after this incident he was about to commit.

He was surprised when he stopped at the door he was searching for.

"Can I help you?" a young male's voice asked. Eoin lowered his head from the T9 to see two male soldiers.

"I need to talk to the prisoner. She has something of mine that I had no idea she took. It's very important that I have it, please, let me through." One of the guards squeezed their eyes into a questioning look.

"Who are you and how could the Mrs. Thurston have stolen something from you?" He asked.

"Knock it off Steve, it's him, Mr. Machale." The Guard immediately stood up straight.

"Sorry Mr. Machale, I had no idea. Uh, you don't mind if I asked what it is she took?"

Eoin only felt a flicker of hesitation, "sorry, I can't tell you that."

"Hah, I knew it Rob, famous people, no matter what rank, get the secret jobs."

"Like I said before Steve, it still sounds contradictory in my opinion. Anyway, what does it matter." The guard reached over and hit the door lock, which in turn caused it to slide open.

"You can go through," Rob directed with his hand.

"Thank you," Eoin stepped through, only barely catching the last few words of their conversation.

"We got to get famous somehow, that way we can get do all of the important missions like him."

"Right, I'm sure that sounds likely. Steve, be my guess, we can start on a magical quest for the genies lamp tomorrow," Rob said in a dull tone.

"What?"

"You know, so we can wish for you to have the abilities of an ace pilot. Oh, and so you can learn how to actually pilot and blasted LFO!" He yelled.

"Hey, yo-," and their voices shut off with the close of the door. Eoin released a breath of stress.

"That plan worked out better than I thought." His eyes glimpsed at the door before turning to see Eureka lying on the bed.

"Eureka, Eureka?" He called. Her eyes opened lopsidedly, and then closed again. Sighing, he walked over and gave her condition a once over.

Now even she was nicely dressed in a U.F. uniform. "Looks like they drugged you up. I would have too if I were in charge, but they must have given you some pretty heavy stuff if your this out of it. Doesn't matter, I'll still get you out of this." He turned back to the door, just to make sure his plan wasn't leaking to the outside, and he gratefully closed his eyes as no one came through.

He turned back to the bed and noticed Eureka's arm handcuffed to post.

"Dang it all," he cursed and rushed to get a closer examination. The cuffs glinted in the over head light, their shape covering a good section of her left arm. "It's coded. What am I going to do?" He stopped to consider, but the answer already popped into his head.

Putting his hand at his side, he took his gun and pointed it at the cuffs.

"One shot here ought to break it open.." The tip of the gun carefully tapped against the connection. He waited a split second, and then released three sweet bangs into the air. Not a moment later, the entire room was flooded with red light and a powerful ringing sound thrashed at his ears.

"The Alarm." He twisted his head to the door, and to his utter surprise, they didn't open. Though he found great reason to wonder why, he instead pocketed the gun and opened the door. The voices of the two guards met his ears.

"I think I heard three gun shots coming from the left side of the hall!" Rob urgently explained to Steve, who was shaking his head in return.

"Forget it Rob, the order are you stay here and keep track of the prisoner."

"What's going on?" Eoin asked, looking between the two. They both turned around, guns popping into their hands. When they realized it was Eoin, they dropped the act of insurgence.

"That's the alarm for unidentified gunshots."

"Shouldn't we check it out?"

"No, our orders are to stay here no matter what other circumstances there may be. In less it's life threatening, I hope." Steven scratched his chin.

"Well, I could stay here. That would allow the two of you to check it out." Eoin nodded down the hall.

"That sounds perfect, I say we let him do it and we can go." Rob said with all excitement. Steven on the other hand shook his head.

"I don't like it," Steven glanced into the room behind them. He then squinted and tilted his head. "Wait, why is there half a cuff hanging to the bed's back res-," His voice exploded into a yell as Eoin pulled out his pistol and shot him in the foot. Eoin then took his own foot and shoved it into Steve's stomach, causing the man to tumble back and slam against the opposite wall where he fell into a not so comfortable sleep.

"What in the world are you doing?" Rob yelled, but Eoin already had his gun aimed at his forehead.

"I'm doing what I want to do, for once."

"What?"

"Just come closer," he motioned with the gun. Rob took a single step. "Closer," another step, "Closer," and another, "No, closer."

"Well how much closer do you wh-," Eoin smacked the butt of his again against Rob's forehead.

"That much closer, dim wit." Eoin gnashed his teeth while rushing back into the room. He dug his hands under Eureka and slung her over his shoulder. "Alright, am I really doing this." He muttered as he charged out of the room and down the hall. The walls slithered by in a gaseous form, like all around him was breaking down into a blur. As he ran, he couldn't even tell where he was running, except that he begged it led to an exit

More halls and intersections crossed his path, but he still could not find the exit he dearly sought.

A group of soldiers passed by without notice. At that moment he was more grateful than ever to see Eureka wearing a uniform that belonged to the U.F.. It provided him with a useful disguise along with a way out of this mess.

"Eoin?" He lifted his head to see Thiena, and when he did a cold shiver spread across his chest. Because she knew exactly was he was carrying. "What are you doing!" Eoin rushed forward and rammed her into the wall. Before she had the chance to regain awareness, he tore down a different direction.

"Stop!" He heard her yell, but there was no way he was going to do that.

But as he was running, several loud bangs blasted behind him. Two sharp pains stabbed through his left waist and shoulder, ripping throughout the rest of his body with a ring that shook his tender bones. He reared right into the wall, his body turned slack as prickles of sting shot through his shoulders. But then his eyes caught a glimpse of what he was seeking.

There, only a few hundred feet away, was the sign for the exit. In that very thought he felt a burst of energy push the pain out of his body. Free, he lifted ring and ripped his feet across the hall, crashing against the air and smearing himself to his goal.

He stopped and kicked the lock, which opened the emergency exit. A wave of cool air swarmed over his body. With his breath heaving, he stepped out into the open and let the door close behind him, but not before hearing another bang and then silence.

"They're coming," he told himself, and started into yet another mad run. His feet blurred across the ground from sheer speed. The only thought to drive him into doing so was getting away as far as he could from the base.

So he ran and ran, carrying himself and Eureka away from the people who told him what he was not. As he ran, he took a moment to glance at the trees around them. They passed over like a brewing storm. He witnessed occasion white flashes, all originating from the moon which slipped its light through cracks in the trees. He let the shadows over come him, the darkness blanketed him. Right now he didn't care, nothing else mattered but getting away from the base.

He ran and watched the trees melt into darkness. He ran and felt his body grow cold to the edges of his bones. He ran, until finally he felt nothing anymore, but a cold unwelcoming darkness.

Eoin thought he saw so many things, but he couldn't understand any of them. There were bright flashes, and occasionally a soft splash across his skin, as if he were resting on the side of the beach. But none of these feeling could even compete with the sweet voice that poured into his ears. Who's ever it was, he didn't care, as long as they continued to hum their sweet tone.

"Eoin?" Her voice dribbled throughout his head. His eyes wavered open to see a glowing blob of green and purple. It took a second, but his memory returned, and he didn't have to ask who or what was above him.

"Eureka, you have to hide your wings." He said through a wad of mumbles. He strived to focus his eyes, but she remained an indefinable blur against her a dark canopy.

"Don't worry, we're hidden under the edge of a small hole. My glow won't get near the top of the trees." She answered calmly, but somewhere in her tone, he could have sworn he heard a spot of pleasure.

He wobbled his head and raised both his hands to grasp his face. A small pain was pulsing at the side of his eyes.

"They're going to be searching for us," he muttered as it occurred to him.

"I think we're alright." He removed his hands and gave her a puzzling look.

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up half way as you were running. You ran for a long ways before giving out. I tried to convince you to stop, but you wouldn't listen." As his eyes began to focus, he could see she was smiling.

"Wait, you woke up from those drugs? They looked like heavy stuff." The pulsing slowly ceased.

"I have a strong resistance against drugs. It takes a lot more to knock me completely out." A cool hand softly landed atop his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. No, wait, I've been shot twice. I got to stop the bleeding." He said with crackles bubbling inside his throat, making it increasingly difficult to talk.

"Don't worry, I noticed both shots and I bandaged them for you. The bullet passed right through, we're lucky." She stopped, leaving them both with a needed silence. Eoin's eyes finally cleared the murky mist in his eyes, and he could finally see her face.

She was sitting at his side with her head hanging directly over his. Her hair draped down around her face while casting a dim shadow around her eyes. But even so, her eyes still pierced through, almost pushing into the whole of his.

"Eoin… Why did you come for me?" Eoin closed his eyes and rested his head to the side. Eureka continued to stare at him. But after sometime passed, she turned her own head in disappointment.

"I was taken to my quarters. It was the first time that I really had to consider what you said, what every one had ever said to me. Just realizing that has left me… confused." He tiredly scratched his head. "Eureka, I don't know what to believe. For the past ten years of my life, I've been a soldier. All of it has been directed by a superior leader. My commander, my father, my leading officers. I was taught to believe that thinking otherwise was wrong, and if I did I would fail as a soldier." He stared off to the side.

"The P.O.F. has always been my enemy, and I was absolutely convinced that they had to be killed, for peace. It didn't matter what it was, as long as it was for peace. That was my one and only goal." His teeth clenched together. "But then I met you. You finally awoke everything inside me that had never bothered me before. There was the P.O.F. girl who died, my friend Clark before her, and so many other things I tried to forget. And last of all, you proved to me that the P.O.F. may not be wrong." A streak of silence came after he stopped. He continued to stare off to the side while Eureka continued to stare down at him.

He closed his eyes and gently shook his head.

"I don't know what I want to believe. While I was in the base, I finally realized I could decide for myself. It was the first time I really challenged what I believed." Eureka's eyes expanded as he actually appeared amused. "I challenged my beliefs, and my beliefs lost."

Eureka, I left my beliefs and tried to believe something different. I want to believe, but I don't know what I want to believe." He stopped, and they both remained silent.

The time that surrounded them slivered by, unseen. A traveling light of white began to slip across his face, caused by the brilliantly white moon peeking over the opening.

"Eoin," she said in a silent voice. "You don't have to believe me, but you don't have to believe them either. I loved Renton with all my heart, and although you two have differences, I have seen parts of him in you." He turned his head away. "But… You can believe what you want to believe. There's never been a time where I would want to change you." Eoin turned his head back, this time seeing something completely different in Eureka.

She hung her head silently over his. She could see him studying every inch of her face, staring at all the flakes of her skin that made her, her. His watching continued, just to absorb her amazing look. It was different, something had changed.

"You know," he said in a voice so calm. Eureka had to move down just to hear it. "This is the first time I've really looked at you." At those words, a smile brighter than the sun stretched across her lips, just as her cheeks turned a lush red.

Eoin continued to stare and his eyes fell back to her wings. The green and purple glow rested against his skin, drenching him and her in a mix of swishing colors. He turned back to her face, where a beauty rested in her smile.

This is the Eureka he had seen glimpses of over their journey together; the same Eureka who caused him to alter his thinking. Now he could see she was sincere to him; him. Suddenly everything she had ever done to him made more since. That thought let him to admit something he should have long ago.

"Eureka, I'm sorry." The phrase appeared to catch Eureka by surprise. "You treated me with so much kindness, and actually tried to help me, not hurt me. I though you were lying. That's the only reason I fought you. So, I'm sorry."

Eureka's face flushed red and she continued to stare at him in shock. After a while, Eoin twisted his head slightly, partly confused. She noticed this and closed her eyes.

"Forgive me Eoin. It's just, when you said what you said, I was reminded of Renton." She stopped and stared. There was such innocence in her face that Eoin found no stopping his smile, even forgetting what she said. He gazed up at her with powerful eyes. Their gaze froze together, sealed under an unseen connection. Once again Eoin absorbed her into his vision, tracking her face, wings, and everything.

When she smiled, not happily or excitedly, but with a soothing understanding, he was caught. He could no longer resist the urge that seized him.

His hand slowly raised and took the back of her head, feeling her hair shift beneath his skin.. He then gently pulled her head towards his. She didn't resist in the slightest. To his subtle surprise, she moved down at his bare touch.

When her lips hid beneath his nose, his heart leapt a beat, knowing the time had come

And it did.

Her lips moved right into his, sealing a feeling he thought he would never let go. Soon he could only think of this feeling, and the feeling of closeness between them. Then he felt a pressure on his mind, like a name he had felt before, but the pressure caused no pain. No, in fact, he relished feeling and how it felt. It pressed at his thinking with warmth and comfort. The pressure continued to push on his thought, and the wall inside him finally cracked. For the first time he could feel it. It was her hammering on these forbidden walls.

She was helping him break though what had imprisoned him for so long. These walls trapped him in a single line of thought, forced him into walking down the same road for the rest of his life. Outside these walls awaited freedom. He could think what he could never have thought before; allow his thoughts to expand past the world of the usual. At last, he could allow the hands of his mind to reach forth and mold ideas to his liking, his wants! No longer could anyone bind him by walls or chains, because he would be free from everything!

And that's when he felt it. The walls broke, he could feel Eureka with him both body and mind. Feelings of absolute ease flooded all around him. She was pulling him outside the walls, allowing him to see happiness. But not for her, she wasn't allowing him, she was giving it to him, bringing him to it hand in hand, wanting him to have it more than herself. She released him and surrounded him in a love he knew only she could give.

And slowly the experience faded within his mind. But he could still feel her mind and spirit close to his, as if directly linked. Then he could feel her kiss again, still sealed, still close, with his arms closely holding her cheeks.

His eyes still close, he saw only darkness. But then, gently, small soft lights sprinkled across his nothingness. He realized they were thousands upon thousands of stars. Gravity at that instant let go of its hold and he felt himself float into the vast ocean of stars. He glanced at all the tiny lights, and found a large planet coming towards him, it almost covering his entire vision. It seemed to shatter with clouds of glittering yellow circling its overwhelming body. He turned his head back around to see a calmer, more peaceful planet falling away.

He admired everything of it all, yet, something felt as if it were missing; something so important that it didn't feel real at all without it.

He gazed back at the stars, watching as each one slipped away into nothing, one after the other. Darkness soon returned to his eyes. He felt so free, so alive with Eureka. She was still pulling his thoughts, his mind away with hers. Where ever their destination, he didn't dare not to follow. Because it was her that had shattered those binding walls and freed him into himself.

So he followed, until it all disappeared. Her mind, her gentle kiss, her cheeks in his hands sharing warmth was gone in one click.

He was left in complete simplicity of thought. For that single moment he could comprehend infinity of nothing. The feeling swallowed his entire body, until he was nothing itself.

Then an image flashed across his mind. He saw someone who he thought never to recognize. But as if he had always known, a name fitted with their countenance. Once he understood, more images of people sped across, each with their own name. Maurice, Meater, Linck, Holland, Talho, Stoner, Mathew, and dozens of more people continued to follow. All appeared, yet one remained missing. The pictures reversed back in the order they came. This time he recognized them, people who had settled closely to his heart. Every one like he had known them for his whole life. And at this thought, he couldn't believe the immense joy that filled every inch of his mind, body, and soul. He knew them! He could see them together and apart. His board appeared before his eyes, then his grandpa's garages, and the Gekko-Go. The Gekko-Go, how could he forget? It was his home, he could remember those years too clearly.

After all the images, one was still missing, the one that connected everyone together and gave them meaning. He wanted to know more than anything else.

And that thought answered him with a picture of her. It was her, she was sitting right there in front of him, smiling at him. The smile was so strong with happiness and love that he gave up and let the feeling consume his body.

The images continued, all her with her same smile, and only a different background to change it all. The debris of his ruined room materialized behind her, and even there she smiled. He saw her next to him inside the cell, and places all around the ship, inside nirvash, the night and day alike. She smiled at him in battle, in front of a large glowing flower, in a place filled with an infinity of books, and then on the glittered white beach, where the ocean pushed at the ground endlessly.

And at last, he realized exactly what he was missing. That thing that connect it all and the thing missing from the stars he could see now.

He lowered his head and saw Eureka. She stared back at him, her powerfully glorious eyes with beautiful orbs of violet within them. Then her smile, this time with a drape of sparkling stars behind, not even basking in comparison.

She glanced down and he followed. Tightly secured in her hands was a white book.

"It's yours, if you'll take it with me." He knew what the book was. It was her, it was them. So he instantly took the book and her hands into his own. She smiled and they simultaneously drew into a loving hug. They kissed, and Renton knew where this place was. This was the place where they fell back down to earth.

Eureka pulled away from their kiss and gazed at the stars above. Renton followed the same action, but he found no stars. Instead he saw blackness, complete and utter blackness.

All at once everything smashed back into his own body. The entire universe sucked into his being instantaneously. Gravity returned and the misty night air prickled his skin. When he opened his eyes, he saw her, Eureka. Her hair was longer, her face slightly more matured, but filled with that innocence he could never forget. Her face still gorgeous to his own, and revealing to him that she was certainly an adult now. But nonetheless, she was exactly the same.

And in the first time in years, he felt a warm liquid trickle away from his eyes and into his hair. He was wrong. She wasn't exactly the same, she was more beautiful than he had even seen her before.

As the tears flowed, he felt tears hitting his own face.

"Eureka-." That was all it took for her to realize, just by the way he called her name. She plunged into his arms and cried, and cried loud enough for the world to hear. All the pain and agony from all the years were finally bursting from her lips.

He was back.

"Eureka," he croaked again, but not even his own voice could contain itself, so he silently cried as well. They held each other with firmness; letting go was completely unimaginable to them, the word itself could find no place in their hearts or minds.

It wasn't until hours later until Eureka's crying had died away into soft breathing. Renton still held her in his arms, closely. He let his mind slowly turn off, but millions of things tip toed across his thoughts. Things were going to be different, that he was for sure. But whatever it was, he would be happy, because now he was free of everything. He knew himself again. And most of all the girl of his world was sleeping inside his own arms.

So he closed his eyes, shut out all thought, and let Eureka remind him of who he was. In doing so he slipped not into darkness, but into the bliss of dreams. Yes, dreams, something he hadn't experienced for so long. He could sleep again.

And he was back.

---

The absence of light shifted around a brightly lit man. His eyes were watery, flickering with the little light that surrounded him. Rips, tares, and cuts savagely grasped his entire body. Blood dribbled from his lips and slipped off the edge of his chin. If he could lift his face, he would, but the obvious marks of abuse puffed at his swollen cheeks, where an inch of movement would send crackles of shuddering pain.

He was left in the brink of despair. Soon he would give out, and his small breath would stutter to a stop. Chances of escape became nil as his hands were brutally tied to the chair.

"Shall I ask to again?" He twisted his eyes up, trying to see through his ruffled brown hair.

In front of him stood a man with perfect uniform. He was average height, but his height struck down anything that accused him of being smaller. His eyes remained pristinely still, and his face was frozen with significance, to the point where the whole room appeared to shake compared to his immobility.

He held his hands behind his back, his black hair neatly tucked behind except for two bangs which escaped to the side of his head. A uniform that of a U.F. suited his body, and it fit all too well with his tight chin and broad shoulders.

"I said, shall I ask again?" His voice reverted back and forth through the darkness, breaking through the man's ears and leaving his insides defenseless to pain. Still, the man held strong and gave no answer.

At this, the other began to move silently. When he moved the whole room became motionless, even the air itself turned solemn at his heed. Every stepped was placed carefully but without effort. It almost seemed that he slid across the floor rather that walked.

He circled the man and continued to do so, wordlessly.

"Just give up. I'm not going to give you the information!" The man gurgled through a voice that had no strength left to talk.

"I have no intention of giving up. You have something that is very valuable to my goals. If you were to give me the information, then the pain would stop. You hold the switch that can end this pain, even the button to begin a life without ever feeling pain again. Although, I do not blame you for not giving so slightly to my demands. You have a belief, as do I, and so you will continue to believe until I prove you otherwise, which I do admire in a human being. But this is what must be done to achieve what is needed. I have little time for the lack of understanding in another." He stopped directly behind the man, walked forward, and placed a too tender hand on the man's shoulder. "I'll ask you but one more time. Where is the current destination of the ship?" His voice sounded neither kind nor harsh, but calm and intelligent.

"What?" The man coughed through his bubbling laughs. "You mean? You don't know where the ship is?" His laughs grew louder and he lifted his head defiantly, despite the pain that would strike after. "There isn't anyone else that would know. But you of all people, you don't even know! You'll never know where the ship is, because they'll always be mov-," an air screaming bang silenced his voice. The uniformed man held a gun motionless at the man's head. At the tip of his gun the man sat in his chair motionless and limp.

"Time has abandoned you, I'm afraid. And you pulled the trigger, not me." He lifted his gun and wiped the speckles of red liquid that covered its tip. His eyes gazed down at the man, completely uncaring, but filled with a hidden terror of power. "Enjoy life on the other end. Dearly hope that I do not find you there either, for you have driven my patience beyond the length of two lifetimes." He kicked the chair and turned around, his face still emotionless. Just at that moment a trench of white light cut through the darkness on the floor. He lifted his head to see two men standing at a brightly lit door.

"Tremefy, the ship is ready for you to leave." One of the black uniformed men said. They both stood perfectly strait and ready.

"And is Mr. Thurston aboard the ship like I had asked?"

"Yes, along with Miss Daia." The other responded. Tremefy nodded accordingly.

"Perfect, that would leave the only ones I will need for this mission. It is unfortunate for that boy Maurice. He belongs to a pitiful mother who had mysteriously disappeared with one of our best officers. What little he knows of this world he will soon be forced to face." Lifting his gun, he glanced into the metal that glittered back at him. Slowly, he smiled. "We can only hope that the two are still alive." He lowered the gun and strutted forward. The disappeared no sooner than a moment after.

"The ship will take off immediately. Admiral Hillings, I'll need him to rendezvous with our ship as soon as we reach the destination. After doing so, contact forces and tell them to avoid the coast of the western continent." The two men stood aside as he passed through the doors. They immediately turned to follow him down the metal built halls.

"What is it you will have us do with the man?"

"If you're referring to the being I just shot, dispose of the body in however means suits you. Just realize that any evidence of the incident could cause fluctuations that we will not appreciate in our future. The interview is to remain a secret, where it can do no harm." The three walked until they entered a large hanger where an aircraft lay waiting. Tremefy gazed at its frame curiously.

"Guard the LFOs, at least one of the people in this crew is apart of the corrupted group that claims to be the P.O.F.. If they're found, shoot them and rid the filth of our ship." He stopped and the others stopped simultaneously. His eyes eagerly searched the ship's every design, but his face remained blank. "Complete your tasks, I will be waiting inside the ship." Without a word the two left. The man slowly started towards the large craft. His feet carried him forward with every step placed in a slow matching beat.

"Acting now is the only option we have left. Whatever means we have to achieve our goals will surely die if unattended. If that be the case, then we shall press forward. And I make a promise unto all who desire to stop me. That those of that desire will be plucked from the sky before they even have a given chance to fly. Our path is sure and will be the most correct of all others." He scanned the ship one last time. Its hall gleamed with a cool streak of white. It made no sound, no hums, not an utterance of a whisper, but the ship glowed with a ruthless strength.

When he was finally satisfied, he continued forward, silent with a gleam of white light streaking across his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10: Catalyst

**A.N.: Hey, sorry if I offend anyone for throwing this in, but I figure I have to say what I need to say. I'll try to be more formal next time.**

** Even the idea of hiding it would be far more than futile, it's rather unimaginable at this point, but I've been gone for quite some time… I'm sure many of you thought I was gone for good, but that's not the case. I just wasted a lot of time. I guess you should probably thank those who submitted a review not so long ago. For some strange reason I get the urge to drop on by and look to see if I have any reviews. When I saw those fresh new ones, I figured people really were still reading, and decided to pick out the old chapter ten I hadn't touched for half a year.**

**So here I am, returned from my slumber (if you want to even call it that). This time I'm truly going to pick up the habit of submitting a chapter fairly often. Now I know, someone must be saying "Well I've heard that one before." I can honestly say I mean it this time, but I will be more realistic. I won't be submitting a chapter every week; your chances improve to every two weeks. I find myself lacking the time to do certain things simply because I find new ways to waste my time after dropping an older way to waste my time. The ability to waste time has become quite a gift of mine. **

**It's been a while, so my writing style has altered slightly. You may notice a sudden change of style through the chapter, sorry, that would be the half year gap. Secondly, I most likely skipped over a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes. Sorry, hopefully I will improve on the next post, hopefully.**

**Anyway, enough banter, and read on for those who are still reading.**

**(Oh yeah, and I've gotten into the nifty little habit of updating my profile with news. Check that out if it excites your interests.)**

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**Chapter Ten:**** Catalysts**

A white steak of mist stretched across a horizon of blackness. Eoin, or rather, Renton opened his eyes to see it, only to find that the light folded into a blur of green and brown. He blinked a few times and let the colors settle into a set of bushes and trees, all growing in a new flourish of colors. Above him still hung the stone canopy, and grasping the edge was the pure blue glory of the sky.

Yes, now he was sure it was morning. The tip of his toes tingled with chill, yet the warmth of his stomach grew strong. It was then that he noticed two arms were tightly wrapped around him, as if never to let him go again. He turned his head and found Eureka leaning against him, her teal hair slightly ruffled, and the full appearance of her emanating the entire meaning of peace. Even though she slept, a small smile dipped in her lips.

The feeling was all too familiar to him. Lifting his head he half expected to see the shape of a large KLF staring back down at him. That memory was old. He remembered it being the day they had finally returned to earth. And just before that was a year yet to be remembered. But the fact that he remembered it brought a strange feeling across his body, almost as if a small push would lift him into the air. As he glanced at his body, he almost wondered if it was his own.

It was only ten years ago that he could remember everything, and then nothing, and now everything again. The appearance of his body felt both strange and familiar. It didn't feel like his own, like someone had lent it to him on a simple whim of pity. And then he was glad to have it, all of it. This was his body again, and his memories, but it all felt odd. He knew he was Renton, he felt everything returning to him, but then a small voice taunted him in the back of his mind. A voice no more than ten year's old, none other than Eoin's.

The voices were thoughts that taunted his mind. He wondered if this was all real, all a trick, that somehow this alien girl had fooled him. And then that thought was utterly rejected. This was Eureka, his love, she could never do something like that to him. It wouldn't even make sense. But the thoughts kept coming, bouncing inside his mind and breaking against his thoughts. The two fought like separate streams pushing against each other, one attempting to win the other, but they only ended in a whirlpool of confusion.

The only thing he could do to muffle the feeling was sigh. He forced it out of his head and glanced at the sky once more.

"I can't think of this, not after everything I did," he said to nothing, the only thing that would listen to him, and the only thing he would have listen.

"What?" Another voice answered. He turned his head towards Eureka and smiled. As always, the thoughts of confusion instantly evaporated as he saw her smile and eyes that bloomed with beauty.

"Nothing, I was just talking to myself. How are you?" Her arms tightened around him.

"Is this real?" She said, her voice plucking a string of fear. Renton frowned as he stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I've had dreams like this before, where we were finally together. I want to believe this is real, it has to be real." She buried her head in his chest. For a moment, Renton just gazed down at her frail state. He had been gone for ten years. Eureka having no proof that he was ever alive, or that anything of him had survived at all. She suffered ten years without him, and he was completely oblivious.

"I'm sorry," he answered.

"Sorry for what?" She said and lifted her head towards him.

"I've been gone for ten years, ten years! You had no sign that I was alive at all, and in the mean time, I didn't know a thing." He closed his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry Eureka." But even as he said it, the two arms around him became even tighter.

"No, I don't blame you for anything Renton." The name tinged something deep within him, but he still opened his eyes to see Eureka staring sternly back at him. This wasn't the old Eureka he once knew. Long ago her eyes would have been filled with desperate urgency. Now her eyes were strong and meaningful, matured from what they once were.

"I know you don't. I just can't believe it has been ten years. And all that time I was alive, not knowing a thing about anything." He said.

"We won't let it hold us back. We're together again, Renton. I've always imagined moments like these where I could hold you like this." She closed her eyes and rested against him. Renton could still hear the echo of ten years lost, whispering in his mind.

"You're right. We need to forget." He said, feeling as if he were trying to convince himself.

Eureka loosened her grip and began to stand up. But she still kept one strong hand on his, unwilling to let the grip go. He stood up shortly after, aches and pain of an uncomfortable night seized his joints.

"We need to get moving." She said to him. Renton nodded, he knew very well that the U.F. would have already searched half the forest. It must have been a miracle that they haven't been discovered yet. But that was the least of his concerns.

He pointed to the side, "I think we should go this way. If I'm right, this way should lead us back to the trail."

"How can you tell?" Renton glanced at the ground. It was obvious he had no idea.

"Let's go." She smiled and took his arm, and just like that the two began to walk, squeezing their way into the herd of bushes. Renton smiled. Eureka knew they were lost, that they were being followed, and most of all, that they were completely out of supplies. And despite everything she smiled and held his arm tight against her side. He could tell she was only happy to have him again.

And as he thought it, he felt a small sting of something invisible to his eyes. He ignored it, as long as he had Eureka, he would be happy.

They continued through the forest for as long as they could. Renton never spoke a world, and neither did Eureka, and that felt right. He could tell by the way Eureka continuously glanced at him, that she was still realizing the fact that it was all real. For him, it wasn't as easy. As the day grew dimmer, the thoughts of the morning slowly crept back into his head. Again he could hear Eoin's thoughts in his head.

Could it be, he wondered, that all of this was a lie? Eureka wasn't even human, he wondered if this was a power of hers, to make people believe in things that were not real. But then he wanted to know why these memories felt so real.

He shook his head tiredly and looked down at Eureka. Just the appearance of her face calmed his thoughts. He could save these thoughts for another time.

"Renton, we need to stop." Eureka said from his side. He frowned and then remembered that Eureka was badly wounded. Without warning he stopped and examined her legs, only to find that there wasn't a mark or even a scar on her skin. This caused him to frown.

"You're just fine?" He muttered slightly. Then he remembered, Eureka always had an amazing ability to heal quickly. Even a small scrape would disappear a few hours after its happening. It was one of Eureka's many gifts.

"Yes, but we need to find a place to stop for the night." Renton looked at her to see her eyes gazing up at the skies. He looked up as well and discovered that dusk had already arrived.

"When did tha-," but he cut himself off as he remembered all of his thinking that had just occurred. He must have been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn't even realized it was sundown.

His eyes quickly scanned back to see the speckles of rising stars. When he turned his head back again, he noticed something different.

"Was that there before?" He tilted a finger at a cave.

"I didn't notice. We may have missed it while walking past those trees." Renton nodded, but something still felt odd. Since his training in the U.F., his eyes had become keen on anything out of the ordinary, which is what bothered him about this cave. But whatever the case be, he concluded it didn't matter. Caves couldn't be of any trouble anyhow.

They entered the gave, its shadowy shapes growing as they dug deeper into the hole. Renton watched every shadow carefully, something about them seeming to track his movements. Soon the light had almost been completely absorbed into the gathering shadows.

Renton stopped and glanced back at the little light behind them. "We should stop, Eureka."

"No, we need to continue." Eureka said. Renton shot his head back, noticing Eureka never stopped, and was now slowly being covered by layers of shadows.

"Eureka, if we go any farther, we'll get lost."

"I know." Renton shook his head incredulously.

"Then why?"

"Because I feel we need to continue, Renton." The way she said his name triggered an old emotion inside Renton. He could recall a since of trust, but an ominous set of wonder. Eureka knew and understood everything she felt. Not only that, she somehow had a sixth sense for things not normally seen by natural senses.

The thought drifted to the back of his mind as he followed Eureka. Eventually she slipped out her glowing wings, where the glow jaggedly filled the walls. Renton watched in silent wonder. The iridescent glow flashed in and out of the cracks. He was almost completely lost in the vision until they finally came upon something that tore away all thought.

"Where are we?" He said, his voice dwindling into nothing, almost as if the room could take away his word, but the room was what amazed him.

In the middle, a pool of water sat utterly motionless, almost as if centuries of time could never touch it. Sticking up from the middle was a small pedestal, and sitting upon it was a shimmering blue crystal. The light from the crystal drained up the walls, until the entire room hummed euphoria.

"How can this be here?" Renton asked.

"I don't know, but I feel like this is the place we are supposed to be." Renton gently turned his head towards her.

"It can't be human origin. I've been allowed to see several U.F. technologies, even more recent documents, but I haven't seen anything like this."

"That's because it's not human." Renton frowned.

"What do you mean? What else could it be?"

"Coralian." He returned with an immediate shake of his head.

"Not possible, the Coralians promised to leave the planet. In less I'm not remembering this right." Eureka started forward without response.

"Eureka, wait!" He started forward himself, but stopped as Eureka didn't fall into the water.

"What's happening, what is this place?" Renton glanced around the room, searching for any sort of meaning that would shed light on the matter. The crystal, sitting on the grotesque pedestal, started to glow brighter and brighter with a mix of red and blue. It refracted off the walls and span around in the shape of cracked glass.

Renton noticed Eureka stepping out onto the still water, but her feet didn't fall through. Every step she took forward sent a pulse of glowing light across the surface. He blinked his eyes, unsure whether what he was seeing could possibly be real. She reached up her hand, about to touch the crystal.

"Eureka, wait, no," Renton leaped out across the small pond. The mere moment his foot touched the unmoving water, another pulse of light spread across the surface, and both he and Eureka fell through. The liquid was nothing like water. It broke apart like a thick muck, slowly absorbing them into its thick mass. Renton desperately tried to claw his way through the muck, to gain some sort of small grip on this sloshing mush. But not matter how hard he tried, he fingers sank through.

"Eureka!" He screamed as the goo sunk into his mouth. He tried to find her in the growing darkness, but all he could see were ghostly shapes flowing around him. He held his breath and spat out whatever guck had escaped into his mouth, but the darkness continued to grow around him. Everything was disappearing like it never was. Blackness was enclosing on him, and he had no explanation as to why.

In that instant, a burst of light surrounded him from every direction. The surprise captured him in his weakness and he breathed for air, and oddly, that's what he got. The muck passed through his nose and seamlessly evaporated. It was no effort at all to breath.

"What's going on?" He mouthed, as he scanned the blinding nothingness. It was then that he noticed the shape of something floating only a bit farther away. He could instantly tell that it was Eureka. "Eureka!" He coughed as his voice burst from his lips. Before he had assumed that the muck would surely block his voice, but the more and more he floated, the less it appeared that they were floating in a thick mush. With his hands he swiped at the subtance, but no resistance fought back.

"Renton?" He looked up from his little attempts to see Eureka floating closer to him.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel that this is right, Renton. This is right, trust me." Renton bit his tongue, feeling the voice of someone not of him surfacing, the someone he had hoped to forget as he finally received his memories again.

"Then what do we do?" He asked, looking around at the vast nothing that surrounded them.

"Nothing, Renton. You two are complete." Both Eureka and Renton turned their heads to see a face they never thought they would see again. It was a man with a bald head, a slender but strong build. His eyes were gentle and his smile calm, but now older.

"Norb?" Renton said inside a breath of surprise. He couldn't believe whath e was just seeing. Norbu, the man who guided Eureka and himself to the command cluster was standing before them.

"I can understand both of your confusion, but a lot of things have changed. I can only guess how strange this must be for you Renton. This world is much different than you remember, and you only caught a glimpse of what it was before you were lost again. But you are missing ten years of your life, and another year you never knew." At those very words, Eureka smiled and took Renton's shoulder. Norbu smiled gently. Renton frowned; none of this was making much sense to him.

"What do you mean? What year are you talking about?"

"Renton, the year that you never knew. You two had disappeared for a long time from time you saved the world and the time that you returned again, only to be torn from the very world that you saved." Norb folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I was gone for a year?" Renton closed his eyes and carefully contemplated everything that he said, and then it clicked. "I remember, the year." He could feel Eureka's grip tightening. Whether it was in excitement, or whether was just more proof that he was Renton. Or maybe, he hesitated to think, it was something else all together.

"Eureka, you and Renton found this place not by coincidence. The Coralians have a knowledge beyond the comprehension of any one single mind capable of human organisms. They knew certain things were to come to pass, and they still watch from a distance." He spread his arms out. "But their eyes have been especially careful for the two of you. There is little more that I can say, but they have prevented themselves from interfering. What you see here is simply a way of communication left by the Coralians." He looked in between the two. There was an odd aura in the area between them, something familiar and yet unfamiliar to Renton. "You two have grown since I last saw you." He smiled.

Renton smiled himself and stared at Norb. He was different, and that was the only word he could find to describe him, different. He turned to look at Eureka, who was completely absorbed by all that was happening. There hiding in her eyes was a sparkle of something fresh and new. She was honestly enjoying herself. Just a week ago, such thought would be impossible between them, or sight.

"Are they here?" Another voice almost grew into his ears like a blooming flower. He faced Norb once more to see woman holding onto his arm. She had purple hair flowing down in fluid spirals. Her face was kind and her eyes just like Eureka's, deep with majestic beauty.

"Sakuya." Eureka said and drifted over to Sakuya. The two conjoined into a tight hug and briefly separated again. It was then that Renton noticed something about Norbu and Sakuya. Somehow, he realized, their reunion was not simply a reunion.

"Listen, the time we have with you is not very long. Our sole purpose in being here is to restore what was once lost. Your memories." Renton contorted his brows in confusion. "You two sacrificed much for the cause of humanity, and these memories were removed from you in hopes to ease a burden undeserved, at least for a time. Now you have reached a state where you might bear it." Norb took Sakuya's hand in his and ever so slowly the smile slipped from his lips. "I'm sure you both know that neither of you can suspect what you will be forced to bear. Humanity could never thank you enough for what you have done, and neither can we, the Coralians." Renton could feel his heart sink as he saw the look in Norb's eyes. Now he was sure, these memories would be nothing pleasant.

"I know that your hearts are filled with much confusion, but the questions in your mind cannot simply be answered by any mere words. Forgive us, but please allow us to explain what happened before you take your leave from us again."

Renton could tell that Eureka wanted to ask a question, then she smiled and they both held hands tightly.

Norbu folded his arms and carefully looked in between the two. The whiteness around them suddenly appeared to dim slightly. In the distance Renton could see a bright flash, large and looming, almost as if it were thousands of miles away. The explosion turned to a deep purple and quickly swirled into a votex type shape. Norbu seemed completely unaffected as he became silhouetted again the light.

"After you two saved both the humans and Coralians from utter destruction, an incident took place that hadn't been noticed beforehand. As you once knew, when all the Coralians awake, the sheer power of such a consciousness would overwhelm the earth's volume of space, causing a door to open that would pull us all in." The vortex behind Norbu began to grow larger. "Of course we were able to stop the incident from happening, but then something else happened that hadn't been predicted. Groups of corallians across the earth slowly began to awake, slowly causing distortions in the space around them. To physical matter and natural people this had no effect, except for those who resided on a spectrum of pure conscious existence."

"Do you mean the coralians?"

"No, the Coralians are bound to physical form just as you are, but I am not the same, for I and all those saved by the Coralians have no connection. The humans cannot be completely bound to a Coralian structure without damage to the consciousness itself." There was a bright flash from behind. "I know this may sound strange, but a consciousness is not completely bound to a physical form, otherwise we would be unable to tare you from your bodies. The coralians can then only loosely connect such a consciousness to another body. In this case, it was their own."

The glowing vortex in the distance suddenly began to grow larger. It took a second, but Renton realized that wasn't what he was seeing. Instead they seemed to be soaring towards the swirling light. He felt slightly nervous as to what could possibly be going on, but instead of letting the worry consume him, he faced Norbu again and hoped the man would provide answers soon. Otherwise, his palms were beginning to feel a little slick.

Sakuya smiled gently and looked at the two, "Listen my dear friends, if you remember from previous events of the command cluster, the world was soon to awake. The laws that rule your universe and world would begin to blend with those on the other dimensions, including those residing on the level of consciousness. When two worlds can meet on those lines, things can pass through and reenter at any point desired." Her smiled dimmed slightly. Renton felt uneasy at the sight. He realized that they were finally going to receive the answer he had been seeking. "This took place and a few consciousnesses took advantage of thin wall protecting the two dimensions from merging. They passed through the wall and reentered this same world." Renton frowned at her. The two in front of the remained silent, letting the information sink in. As Renton could gather, what they were saying, is that actual beings had left their world and then returned.

"But wait," Renton said and paused for just a moment to reassess what he knew, "you're saying this happened to a human consciousness?"

"Yes," Norbu answered.

"Then why are you so concerned, what happened that caused you to need us so desperately?" At this question, the two seemed unnerved. This time Norbu took the initiative.

"They did reenter our world, Renton, but not at the same time." Inside, Renton felt something jerk.

"That's not possible," Renton said, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"In your world, no, it's not possible in the least. These events did not take place in your world, but they did affect your world. Physical matter cannot transpose through the thin wall that was spoke of, it is impossible. Yet, matter was not the case in this situation. What passed through was something that already exists on another level, consciousness." Yet another flash emitted from behind them, the votex was drawing too close for comfort. Renton noticed Norbu glanced behind uncomfortably.

From this range, Renton couldn't help but not blame him. The vortex was massive, almost seeming to appear the size of a very planet. Streams of golden light swirled around its mass and then violently curved inward towards the center. Sparks and tares viciously skittered across the vortex. From each tare a flow of white spewed from the crevices.

With structure approaching in its chaotic nature, a muffled screeching sound appeared to seep from its depths. Renton felt increasingly uneasy, and it made him feel no better when he saw a drop of sweat sliding across his cheek.

"Listen," Norbu said over the noise of the screech. "Three specific consciousness poured through that same thin wall. Two we did not know at the time, but one we knew very well, and you will soon discover who." Eureka's grip tightened on Renton's arm, and he turned to see her eyes wide open.

The grown man closed his eyes and tilted his head down. It wasn't for some time until he lifted his head again and looked at the two in was what appeared to be sadness. "Eleven years ago the two of you were taken from your safe return to earth and asked to challenge the problem at hand. We couldn't easily select a random few consciousness and send them to remedy the problem. We needed someone we could trust, someone we knew would fight even if it meant spending their own lives. I helped in the decision as well," he broke eye contact, appearing to look guilty. "We chose both of you to complete the task. I do not think I can ever find it within myself to ask for forgiveness for having done this thing to you."

"Why, you didn't have a choice, Norbu," Renton said while giving him a confusing look.

"Because things happened that we assumed would. Because of these things, we had to usurp your memory from you. At the time, we believed the two of you had already experience too much heart ache. You both sacrificed a great deal for us, and you learned a great lesson that you needn't yet learn." He closed his eyes and sighed.

Sakuya stared directly at Renton. "You two are ready to learn the lesson you have forgotten. It is time that you received your memories again. Now is the time to relearn again." Renton wanted to ask so many questions, but his mouth wouldn't move as it should. He felt emotions that made no sense to him building inside of his body. Thoughts slipped into his head without order or purpose. Then he realized something was changing inside him, both body and mind were merging into a separate form. He felt like speaking words not his own, but had once belonged to him.

Norbu raised his hands and thousands of golden streams tore away from the vortex and charged at himself and Sakura. He took turns looking at Eureka and then Renton. While Renton could still think for himself, he saw that there were words still unspoken. But it was slowly becoming to late.

The voice in his head was growing louder. In that moment, he realized the voice was his from long ago. The emotions began to seize him. He shoved his eyes shut and shook his head, but when he opened them again, his body had changed. Now he was wearing a pair of long shorts and a jacket. When he looked over at Eureka, he noticed that she was now wearing awhite gown.

Facing forward, the two that would one day be their guardians had disappeared. And then slowly, ever so slowly, his own thoughts became dim against a younger self, and the feel of his body was taken from his control. Younger memories peeled away, and older memories pulsed again as if fresh and new. He could feel himself literally forgetting. Calmly it all slipped away, everything that made him the him he was now withered and withered into nothing. Then, he forgot.

That was, before, he heard one last voice whispering into his thoughts. "The time has come for you to experience what you have lost. You must suffer the pains of reliving all of it, forgive us, Renton." He knew it was Norbu's, but he had left him only just a few moments ago, explaining their new mission, despite that both Eureka and himself saved the earth from the collapse. Norbu apologized greatly for having forced them to do this, but he and Eureka accepted graciously. He wasn't about to let the world they strived to save crumble from incidents of the past.

"But then, what did he mean to relive all of the events?" Renton whispered. He strived to think, but the more he thought, the less of a memory the thought became, until it was nothing more than meaningless. Instead of forcing the idea to resurface, he gave up and let it slip away to the back of his mind.

Besides, he could see it was of no matter now anyhow. The vortex was now spinning around them. In the very center could see a pulsing green light, almost ghostly and distant, as if they could never reach it. It wasn't sight that was telling them they were nearing, but instead a feeling inside as he felt himself changing. Norbu, he remembered, did mention that this was the thinning in the wall, and soon they would be traveling back themselves to another time.

Norbu had also said that as they near the weak point between realities, his body would be separated from his mind, and he imagined that this was the case. He took several deep breaths and stopped. Norbu mentioned not to let any feelings of touch influence them, as it may hinder the body and mind from separating, which would cause greater problems. So he closed his eyes, let his breath drain away, and ignore all thought. As he did so, the sounds of the roaring winds became silent. The warmth from the vortex seeped away from his skin and left him feeling naked in a darkness he couldn't see.

The connection was severed. His body felt as if it blipped into nothing, as if it never was or ever could be again. He felt his thoughts expanding from its prison, reaching and touching things that his eyes or ears could ever hope to sense. It was so strange, he wasn't even sure his consciousness could handle it. Thoughts not of his own converged into his mind like actual objects. He could literally reach out with his mind and grab them, touch them, mold them. Some thoughts were hard and strict, others were light and frail, and a few felt warm and powerful. The feeling was so strange that he refused to resist, and continued to expand his mind further and further into this bliss of thoughts and comprehension. Until everything that was existed only within himself, making him existence itself

When he attempted to laugh, the feeling transformed into something he could see. It utterly captured his mind as the laughter floated from his own thoughts and glowed with powerful wonder.

Then slowly, he felt something beckoning him. It was far, almost too far to even make the attempt. He paused to wonder if they would call that hope, that far off feeling, or call, that appeared to be nothing more than a candle of light. But the distant voice, or thing, continued to call him from somewhere he couldn't see. It was alien to him. Whatever it was, he felt it continually tapping into his thoughts and blurring its desire.

Without warning, he felt something seize him. For the first time he could open something that could have been eyes. A mixture of white and black flew past him like a thick wind and rushing river. He could hear the force booming past what might be ears. Screams seared by, sending a wave of shivers across his mind. He felt dim and exposed as his light consciousness began to gain weight. Before he had time to prepare, the distant voice seized him and pulled him down. The screams turned to laugher and then to whispers. The White and black fell into each other, exploding into a massive vortex. Inside he could hear the voice yelling at him, screaming at him, begging him to come. Something down there was empty and it needed him to feel whole again. It begged for his fill to fill its emptiness; but the voice scared him.

The weight sucked him in, and he felt his consciousness sucking back together. His freedom was snatched away just as if he had never owned it. Thoughts not of his own dissipated. The black hole of a vortex consumed him, and he was in utter darkness. He attempted to call out, but no voice would emit from his mere mind.

He felt like an entire ocean slammed against him, consuming his entire shape mercilessly. Then the water broke past and began to fill his mind. It flowed into shaped and provided energy. He felt a flash of pain, then a gentle tingle. Suddenly he felt an arm attached to his thoughts. More flashes of pain exploded all around his existence, usurping him into pieces of matter. After one final flash, he felt himself whole. The vortex was gone, the roaring wind had stopped. Now he could hear nothing. A cold feeling after experiencing what he had experienced.

A soft beep sounded from to his right. He opened his eyes, and he realized he was lying in a bed. With a jolt of energy he sat up and saw an alarm clock sitting atop a dresser.

"Six o'clock, did all of that really happen?" He slipped out of the bed and looked around the dimly lit room. Off to the left was table littered with pieces of a dismantled gun. A set of cleaning tools clustered to the side. He walked over and opened the dresser to find a set of clothes inside. He slipped the clothes on and then began to explore the room. It wasn't long until he finally found the light and switched it on.

The room he was in was small. There was a single bed in a mess. The plated floor was littered with clothes. The dresser from before was attached to the right wall, and the left wall had a table and mirror.

"This is," he paused to yawn, "strange." He moved over to the mirror and gazed at himself, but what he found inside that mirror was anything but himself. On the other side of the mirror was a young man with strong stature. His eyes were cool and stern, nearly to the point where he felt uncomfortable looking into them, although they were his own. The cleanly black hair on his head was ruffled and padded on one side from the recent nap.

He touched the sides of his prevalent cheeks and then gazed at the thickness of his brows. Though he wasn't sure why, he had the sudden urge to comb his hair back. He immediately did so and plucked the brush that was lying on the table amongst the other junky things. He stroked his hair several times until it had neatly formed.

He set the brush down and stared his clean black hair. "That's strange. I did that as if it was second nature. Norbu never mention that in the transfer. But at least he was right, it worked. The mind would naturally find a body to inhabit, one where it was needed. So then… where am I?" He headed for the door and switched off the light. He then stepped outside into a long metal surfaced hall. A stream of lights stretched across the ceiling. When he turned around, a group of men dressed in neatly black uniforms passed by, frantically chattering amongst themselves.

Looking down, he noticed for the first time that he was wearing a black uniform himself. It took another second, but the uniform he was wearing--he realized—was that of an old U.F. design.

"I'm a U.F. soldier?" Renton scoffed, unsure whether he should be surprised or disgusted. Then he realized, _what if Eureka ended up on somewhere else_? The thought practically scared him to death. He quickly began to move down the hall, unsure of what to do or what to think. Before he knew it, he stopped.

"Renton." A voice said, more seeming to flow into his mind rather than call. He looked to the right to see a door. Like an invisible force compelling him to, he reached for the door and entered. Inside he found Eureka looking in the mirror.

"Eureka." Renton said and ran forward. She turned and the two immediately ran into each other's tight embrace. They held for a few moments, then broke apart.

"We're here Renton. We made it just like Norbu said." Eureka said as she glanced back at the mirror. Renton looked into the reflection as well, to glance at what Eureka was now. Though as they looked at each other, all they saw was themselves; the mirror's told a different story. Eureka was only just a tad shorter than Renton. Her hair was long and red, forming curls at her back. She had earthly green eyes which caught Renton off guard slightly from the absorbing effect it had on him.

Renton turned to look at his normal beautiful Eureka. "So Norbu was right, just before we left, he was telling the truth about new bodies." He had to shake his head slightly at himself. The fact that he was in someone was, nonetheless, different. He felt taller, but his body felt more energized. It was under control but it was not his own. This was a feeling he wasn't sure he would ever get use to.

"But, do you think the consciousnesses previously in these bodies are safe?"

"I think because we're even in the bodies must mean they're alright, right? Norbu told us the Coralians had a way of communicating with the Coralians of this time, that they would extract the consciousnesses and keep them for safety. Otherwise, I don't think we could enter these bodies." He gazed into the mirror once more and touched his cheek. That feeling, he couldn't describe the feeling of being someone else, but knowing you were yourself. He smiled. "To think that just days ago we were stranded on the inside of the world, just hoping to save the humans and the Coralians." He tilted his head down and shook it gently. He felt Eureka's arms rap around him, filling him with a sense of security again. "Thank you Eureka." She simply smiled at him.

She let go and looked over at where the door was. Renton followed her gaze and the two stood there staring. The truth was, neither knew where to start. The Coralians themselves were unsure where the others could be, but only when they would be. They were now in the past. Renton wished Norbu had mentioned exactly what time they were arriving in, but for reasons unknown to him, Norbu wouldn't shed any light on the matter.

It was now up to them to figure out what to do. They had no idea where they were, what they were supposed to do, only that they had to do it. Renton felt nervous, just slightly. But as long as Eureka was with him, he was sure they could pull off the impossible again. Just like that had in saving the world, and just like they had in coming together.

"Let's go," Eureka said and went for the door. Renton followed shortly after. The two traveled down the halls whilst studying the stiff design. It was just like any other U.F. ship, despite that it did appear an older design, even if it was just the inside.

Two more soldiers passed on by. A strange thought suddenly occurred to Renton as they walked.

"Do you think the two of us, or I mean, the two we are inside at the moment, were a couple?" Renton asked, as he took a glimpse of the two soldiers walking away.

"Is there any way of knowing?" Eureka said, looking at him.

"No, I guess not. But it would have been funny." He smiled to himself as the image of him and Eureka together left a subtle warmth in his chest.

"I don't think that's important. We need to find them, all three that traveled back from the thinning in the wall."

"Right," Renton said while nodding his head in agreement. Although, he was disappointed to find out that Eureka wasn't getting the same vibe as he.

"I think we're on an airship." Eureka commented as she looked up and down the halls.

"How would you know?"

"I have a feeling, the one that's different than when you are on land. That feeling that's different." She glanced at him like it made perfect sense, but Renton merely nodded his head, although he found no understanding in anything in what she just said.

Pushing the issue to the side, they continued to move forward in search of what was needed. Eventually they came across a window and found clouds sweeping underneath.

"She was right," Renton muttered silently. The clouds were as fluffy as ever, and the sweet blue sky faded into grey over the distance.

Suddenly, and yet oddly, Renton felt a peculiar feeling inside his stomach. He was sure how to voice it or if it was a voice itself, but more of a feeling. The feeling pulled at him, whispered in words that were not words, but still understandable.

"This way," Renton said, pointing his hand down a corridor. Eureka abruptly stopped and stared at him.

"Why?"

"A fee- I think it's worth a try. We've been traveling on a linear course for a while now. Maybe we should try this way.

"But," Eureka stared at him, then down the hall, and back at him. "If that is what you want." The two continued to walk. Renton felt an uneasiness as the feeling began to grow stronger and more assured. The further he walked, the stronger the feeling got, as if something somewhere on this ship was reaching out to him, or maybe he was reaching out to it. It was a feeling so strange that he was tempted to just turn around and ignore its utter existence. Yet, he knew that such an action would cause the feeling to grow stronger.

So, forgetting the feeling, he walked with Eureka. The feeling became direction, pulling him down certain halls and corridors. For a moment he even forgot Eureka was following. If he couldn't resist the feeling, then he might as well give in, and so he did.

It came to the point where things became non important. The walls swiveled on by in nothing more than a grayish mist. The light grew brighter and his speed became faster; he was shooting down the hall in a rapid run. He could tell it was close now, that place he was reaching or was calling. The feeling that pulled at his heart and mind, stroking his conscious existence with want of destination. He was no longer running, he was being pulled to that destination. He was there.

Renton looked around, blinking, sweating, wondering what had just happened. When he turned he saw Eureka turn down and hall and meet up with him, heavy in breath.

"Renton?" she barely let out between one of her gasps. "What happened?"

"I…" He wanted to begin, but the words he needed to describe the incident were not capable within his vocabulary. "I don't know, I just had this feeling and I had to follow it. Maybe it's like what you have, those feelings?" Renton rubbed his head slightly. He wasn't sure if the incident that happened could have happened. But fact is, it did, and it scared him.

Eureka stood up and stared at him intently. But after a moment of nothing, she stopped and looked at him as a whole.

"Are you sick, maybe something happened when we transferred," she hesitated, "bodies?"

"No, I'm fine, let's just ignore it. Besides," he turned to face the door that his feeling had led him to. But before he could do anything more, Eureka's hand took his hand. The urge to find out what was inside that room pulsed inside his veins, but nothing could compel him to act otherwise when Eureka's hand was with his.

He closed his eyes, opened them, and shared eye contact with her. "I'll be fine Eureka, please, trust me. It was just one incident, maybe it's just a temporary side effect of transfer." They both looked at each other. Renton could easily tell she was hesitant, and he understood why, what had happened was utterly strange. But despite everything, he wanted to know why that feeling led him here, and why it was calling him from inside the room.

After a silent moment, Eureka nodded and looked at the door. He smiled, relieved to see they were dropping the subject. He reached forward and opened the door.

There was nothing inside except for the faint echoes of quick swift clicks. He opened the door a little wide to see a glow from the back, which he soon noticed was a screen to a laptop streaming with information. Then he saw what he was looking for; a man typing at the computer.

The man appeared neither young nor old, just strong and nearing the point when his body would soon betray him. His streaking black hair was beginning to grey, and his face, which may have been handsome once, grimaced at the computer screen. His eyes where a very, very light blue, nearly ghostly. The mixtures of screen and blue flared across his face like a liquid blue fire.

He typed at the computer, appearing not to have noticed that they had entered; that was far from the truth.

"Welcome, Eureka, Renton." The man's voice was mature and soft. Renton oddly had the desire to hear it again. For his voice was filled with a sense of knowledge and wisdom like he had never heard from any other.

That was when he realized this man had just called them by name.

"You… know us?" Renton breathed as the utter confusion settled in.

"Yes, in a way, I know the both of you very well. You are the two who suffered the punishment of my sins. You two suffered that which none of your kind should have to bear. Two young children of nothing more than innocent hearts who must be faced with the corrupting idea of reality." He turned around and smiled. His smile captured Renton as a man who knew the answer to all problems. More than anything, it was fatherly

"I would apologize, but that would make no difference in what I have done." He clicked one more button on the computer.

"But, who are you?" Eureka asked the question Renton could not utter.

The man's eyes appeared to gleam as he stared at the both of them. He turned his hair around and faced them head on.

"I am Professor Xellien."


	11. Chapter 11: Like the Dired Leaf

**Author's Note**

**Yes, I'm back, and I'm sorry I've been gone for practically a year now. I'll say it, but I doubt you'll believe me, but I am going to finish this story. Thanks to those who are actually still reading.**

**Chapter 11: Like the Dried Leaf**

The silence was slightly unnerving to Renton. One of them, one of the three sat before them even now. And in the room he felt something quivering, like a still whisper of power that refused to reveal itself. A still whisper.

Professor Xellien, a man who seemed to show no evidence of his emanating high stature. His eyes appeared to sparkle as he stared at Renton, each one filled with kindness and gentle respect. Then there was the smile he noticed on his lips, the smile that appeared to know more than what anyone else in the universe could hope to know. He knew it as the look of a genius.

The man stood up and wiped the sides of his shoulders. He stared at Renton a little longer and then back at Eureka.

"It's fascinating to finally meet the two of you. I never thought I would be presented the chance. But here in the now I see that I've been privileged of witnessing the two of you in the flesh. If you could only imagine the kind of future you to will life." He shook his head and glanced back at the laptop. The glossy screen was filled with a river of blue glowing numbers. "Blast, it's hard to manage every control in the spectrum. The waves are different within this era, almost as if the entire pace, no, the beat of the Coralians flow differently. Their objective is far less connected to the waves than before, their objective must be aimed elsewhere. Interesting, absolutely fascinating." He leaned over and dabbled his hands against the keyboard.

Renton blinked and shook his head. "Wait, Professor Xellien?" Renton stared at the elderly man, completely perplexed.

"You worked with our father, didn't you?" Eureka suddenly asked from the side. Renton, confused, looked over at her, wondering how this man would know his father.

"Your father?" The man's smile softened slightly. "I see. You, after this time much time passed, have collected much wisdom, Eureka. I am proud to have known a person such as yourself. It is unfortunate that I am the one to have caused you this much pain, or at least the pain I will cause you." He turned his ghostly eyes back towards the computers, "but that can change…" Renton stared at him, the words unsettling him. "But yes, I knew the great Adrock unlike many others did, do, and would. He was a great teacher of the waves, a man who placed his intelligence, not only in his mind, but in his heart. Too many of us have let our minds wither without the strength of our hearts. I am but one of many who suffer from such a weakness. Then again," he smiled and turned back to the teenagers, "I am not one to make the same mistake twice. It was never within my abilities, and it never shall be."

As if nothing else could be said, the elderly man turned to his computer, and began to type away. Renton stood there, staring at this odd and yet telling man. He appeared to know much more about everything than he was revealing.

"Mr. Xellien, we need you to stop and come with us. Renton and I are here to bring you back to the future." Eureka hesitated, it seemed strange to be talking to him as if she were the authority. For that matter, it was strange to be referring to the future in such a way. She already felt off balanced by the whole situation.

"Do not worry, I know all too well what your purposes are here. Don't ever begin to believe that I could not." The man continued dabbling his fingers across the keyboard.

Renton's eyes widened, "How could you know?"

"I learned more from your father than any normal man would learn in their lifetime. Honestly, that has little to do with it. It was only a matter of time before they sent some one after us. My assumptions led me to the two of you. You who are the most trusted above all according to the Coralians." He rested his hands in his lap. "You are a generous two. I could think of no one else the Coralians would send, but you two." Renton stared at the old man with a look that one would at a rabbit licking peanut butter. The man's stare back at them was something Renton couldn't seem to understand. He seemed to stare at them with respect, but then, as if they were no more than toddlers.

He took a breath, frowned, stared away, and then glanced back. It was the same stare, as if he were a living, breathing picture. Eureka beside him made no movements either. In the moment, the room took on a ghostly breath.

A quiet sound beeped from behind. Xellien's head perked up and his smile softened. The feeling evaporated into nothing.

"Well then, it appears that we should move on. There are only a few moments left to take action. It was pleasant to meet the both of you for one last moment." With no intention of saying anything else, he turned back to his computer and began to type away.

This didn't settle well at all with Renton. "Move on? Proffersor Xellien, we need to go. If you say you know as much as you do, then you know we can't let you do this."

"Saying is nothing compared to doing, my dear Renton. I know full well your purpose, but as you may very well have noticed, I appear as little as nothing when it comes to a threat. The Coralian's have led you to believe that I've come to correct a mistake. That is all." He quickly whisked a smile as he typed along. Renton shook his head, slightly confused. If what Xellien said was true, then they both shared the same purpose. "You see Renton, I'm not here to hurt anyone, kill anyone, do anything to anyone. Then again, that isn't entirely true. I do plan to change the future, whether or not that hurts or kills people is quite unsure. I believe the ends satisfy ends."

"No Proffesor Xellien, we cannot allow you to do this." Eureka spoke out of her period of silence.

"And why is that, Eureka?" Curiosity peeked in his voice.

"You can't change the pass Xellien, it isn't the way it is meant to be. The Coralians told us to stop you, under no specific interest or condition."

Xellien's smile tightened, only slightly. Yet his eyes still scrolled across the screen, and his fingers dashed back and forth across the keyboard. With all this in mind, he was still able to continue a perfectly fluent conversation. "Let me tell you something, Eureka. Time is a far more simple concept to follow than one may assume. You see, many believe that even a hair's breadth could alternate an entire future. Which would make sense. One action's influence grows over time. Take for example a man flying a plain to an island. He follows a strait path, but at the beginning of his flight, his direction diverged only one degree. This tilted him off course until he was many miles off course from the original destionation. It is unbelievable, but the Coralians see time the same way." He glanced back at them for only a moment, to catch their expressions.

"Of course, time is nothing of the sort, for time is only a concept, an imaginary idea. The objected within time decide what is to come and what is not. My action's will not influence the entirety of a population. Idea's will still carry forth and must happen. That is to say, if I don't cause a major catastrophe, which I have no intention of doing." He continued to type, and then finally, he stopped.

He swiveled around in his chair and faced the two younger teens before him. His eyes seem to sparkle, just like before, with curiosity and knowledge intertwined. Renton felt uncomfortable from the stare. In all actuality, he always got that strange feeling from Xellien. That the man knew something very important, and only he knew it.

"You see Renton and Eureka. Time will maintain itself, and I have no plan on causing any major changes. I only wish to correct the mistake I made, my mistake, and mine alone. It should be my choice to choose so, no?" Renton paused, and Eureka remained silent. He smiled. "I plan to remove the creation of the Inverse Drive." Renton's mind drew a blank. Before he was barely grasping what he was saying, now he had no idea at all.

"Inverse Drive?" Eureka said, tenderly.

"Yes, a machine I created some time ago. It was designed and meant for the better. I didn't really care, I only found it fascinating, and wanted to continue in the project. I continued to discover more and more mysteries behind my own creation. Then, through this infinite mine of knowledge I discovered, this fountain which never suffered a drought, I found terror." For the first time, Renton noticed his eyes dazed, like his mind caught a distant memory. "The knowledge contained therein was too powerful, and the UF was using all I had as a weapon. I cursed myself for my sin, and locked the rest of my knowledge in a place I knew where no one would find it. There was still more to discover, but I bit back the temptation… And…" He let his words drift into nothing. Renton stared at him carefully. This man was honestly strange, and then, mysterious.

"What is your purpose, Xellien." Eureka suddenly questioned. Renton saw her face was utterly still, blank, without emotion.

"To dissolve all the pain I have caused. Both you, the UF, the POF, all of the pain I have, had, and will ever cause. In the future, I can't do anything of my mistake. But here, in the past, I can make my mistake as if it had never happened. I can stop you two from feeling the pain I will soon cause you." His smile slowly became gentle. But inside it, Renton could see a solemn grimness inside. "Please, let me perform this task. It is all I ask, to redeem myself of these terrible sins. I only want to keep other from their suffering." He lowered his head in plead.

Renton wasn't sure what to say, but Eureka did. "No, the Coralian's said under no circumstance. Renton and myself have suffered much, but we have both come to realize we can survive anything."

Xellien lifted his head, the smile resumed, "Trust Eureka, you would allow me to do this if you knew."

"No, under no circumstance." Her face continued to be stern. At this final confirmation from Eureka, Xellien's smile weakened.

"Unacceptable, I didn't want to do this, but it appears that I have no choice. I will then unveil that which is to come." He stood up and held hands behind his back. "Renton will die, the POF, which will establish soon, will then start a war. For many years you will suffer Eureka, and then you will never recover." He continued to stare at Eureka. Her still face had shed its skin and was now filled with horror.

The one thing Renton knew she depended on was himself, as he to her. Yet the very thoughts seemed too distant. He couldn't really imagine himself dead when he felt so clearly alive. The idea that by some cause at some time, he would no longer exist alongside Eureka. The idea sheathed a blade of fear through his stomach. Alongside Eureka no more. The idea frightened more than anything had ever before.

"I'll… Die?" He barely managed the words through his lips. After all they had survived, through pain, through change, through the destruction of the world.

"Yes." He said it so simply like it was no matter at all, but simple fact.

"When, how?"

"From the point you two saved the world, approximately two years from the time before you came here. You will have come close to stopping the birth of a war, then Renton will die, and your efforts will have been for not." Xellien's eyes stayed on Renton, deviating towards nothing else.

Renton still felt uncomfortable, as a matter of fact, he found it hard to believe at all.

He stared back at Xellien defiantly. "How would you know?"

"Come now Renton, as I've told the both of you, I was one with the Coralians. Just as your father, just as your sister. Think what of the power that runs their inner veins. They have a knowledge far from beyond the comprehension of humans. They've come to a way of measuring the future without actually touching into its existence. Though, it would be of little surprise if they were capable of doing so." He readjusted himself in his chair and swung one knee over the other. "Renton, consider your encounters with the Coralians. Your father discovered Eureka, a human form Coralian. He had also had a son, apparently the chosen of the Coralians to carry out their will and save the world. You, my friend, must consider the incredible coincidence this implies. The father, the son… Was it planned, manipulated, or did they simply know who would be the chosen?" Gentle as kiss from a butterfly, he leaned back in his seat, and smiled gingerly. "Renton, I was with them for many years, and I shared their discoveries. I've come to see many things, and through all these things, I've the way to change everything. Yes, I'm sure of it, now that I can fix the mistakes I've made with a modicum of collateral damage."

Renton continued to stare, Eureka was utterly silent. And then, in that instant, Renton felt anger begin to boil in his stomach.

"You don't really suspect us to believe you, do you?" For once, the smile dimmed on his face.

"Actually, yes, I did." He said, raising his brows at Renton. Renton's eyes widened, he hadn't expected such a remark as that. It seemed so truthful, that this man had no intention of lying in the least, or that he at least had no intention of doing. The more time Renton spent with this man, the less he could understand.

A beep sounded in the room. Xellien's smile returned and he tilted his head at the two and then turned back to this laptop.

"I hope you'll forgive me. It seems my distraction has lasted long enough for the program to finalize." He said to the two.

"Program?" Renton muttered, feeling an odd dread building inside of him.

"Indeed, though all I have said unto you is no farther from the truth than truth itself, I was simply using it as a means to distract you from the object at hand." He turned back once more, but this time, one hand remained on the flat of the keyboard. "You see, I was uploading a sophisticated set of communication tracks, all of which would eventually lead to the destruction of a ship."

A moment of silence insued. Xellien stared at them, as if enjoying their utter obliviousness.

"Please, attempt to understand and not forget all that I have spoken. I am here to fix one purpose. Time is far more reassuming than one thinks, not a frail structure which completely transforms when one piece is altered. But, if one moves the right piece, than time is forfeit to genius, and must surrender its king for the end of the game. I have found that piece, the piece which will alter all, but change nothing." He gleamed and tilted his head, studying their reactions.

Eureka remained silent, her eyes wide, filled with the power of horror. But Renton, he couldn't shake it, that feeling of anger grew inside of his stomach. This man who appeared to know everything lost his shine of brilliance; and now all he felt was anger.

The words of Norbu wisped into his thoughts.

"For no reason let changes take place. One of the three you will face is a very broken man, and will stop at nothing to complete his task." The word repeated over and over. It fueled his reason for anger, to give anger a reason to act.

Without a hint of warning, Renton leaped forward. Xellien, though, was ready. He whipped a leg out, knocked Renton off his feet. He then reached up and wrapped one right arm around Renton's neck, forcing him immobile.

"Ah, poor child, the attempt was noble, or rather, blurred. I can understand your sudden hate for me Renton. You've who have suffered so much to become something worth being and to stay with the one you love most. And yet, here I am, a man who says all you're doings are worth nothing. Will you not listen? I can save you." Renton froze in Xellien tight grip. He could almost see the man smiling, not greedily, not insanely, just smiling. "You can live, all will happen as it has, but you won't suffer death."

Renton paused and replayed the words in his head. Suddenly, Norbu's warning seemed so distant and meaningless. The chance to live and continue. But then all that faded away with a simple thought, his own promise.

"No, stop it, you're lying." Renton continued to writhe in Xellien's grip. But despite his age, Xellien was far stronger than a sixteen year old boy.

"I have no reason to lie."

"You distracted us, you said those things to buy more time, to," he halted, "finish the program."

"Yes, that would be true, were it not that the program is only one button away from being activated. I have no reason to lie now, my work here is finished. I'm simply telling these words to calm you, that all will be well." His voice was tender and drifted from his lips like a distant wind. From his father, he could almost imagine those words from his own father. He almost wanted to believe the man, but knew he couldn't.

Thoughts, ideas, and everything else blanked from his mind. He didn't know what to do or think. That is until, his eyes rested on Eureka.

"Eureka, stop him! Hurry, take the computer." Renton struggled and barely managed to grip Xellien's free hand. But when he looked back at Eureka, she was still where she stood. Her eyes were wide, filled with terror, fear. From her stance, Renton knew she would not move. "Eureka?"

"Please, Renton, Eureka realized what you cannot appear to see. She knows I tell the truth. I would ask why you cannot be the same, but I can understand far more than you know. You also believe and fear the truth, and will not accept it. It is unfortunate, for I thought you to be a stronger boy." Xellien looked down with dimming eyes; pity.

Renton felt a burst of energy, doing all he could to release himself from Xellien's impressive grip. But even as he writhed, pulled, and yelled, Xellien slipped his hand out of his grip like he was no more than a child.

He then raised one hand to the laptop, stared at the screen for a while longer.

"It's rather fascinating. To think I could fix such a serious sin with this one last step. One button, and the world will change. It doesn't have to be me, it can be all else who can think in this world, and for those which cannot. This one action."

"EUREKA!" Renton screamed, but she only twitched and diverted her eyes.

"Good bye, to who I was. May Professor Xellien, be no more." Xellien muttered, and laid his hand upon the key. The screen blanked and the room went dark. At first, Renton thought this was an effect of what Xellien had done. Then, he heard another person breath close to his ear.

"What?" He could hear Xellien silently whisper. The lights silently turned came back on as if nothing had changed. Renton barely saw a look of bewilderment on Xellien's face.

"What happened?" He managed to say.

"Something is wrong… very wrong." Xellien immediately let go of Renton and placed both hand on keyboard. His finger's blared across the flat surface like a smother of blurs.

"What is it?" For some reason, the idea of this man being afraid, made him uneasy.

"It appears someone has taken control of the machine." He uttered miraculously. "Their reprogramming this faster that humanly possible." His eyes flared wide. "They're redirecting the message path ways." He tenderly released his fingers from the keyboard. "Dear mercy, whoever did this have an intelligent design." He glanced back at the two of them. "Quickly, we must find them."

Renton didn't like the sudden change of alliance. "Who are you to say what we do. You almost had us killed!"

Xellien sighed. "I told you Renton, my intentions are of opposite poles to that of what you think. I have no intention of killing you, the opposite, in fact. I know you are offended by what I said," he glanced at the computer screen, "but this man apparently realizes my purposes, and intends to use them against me." He paused. "Or for himself."

"Then what do we do?" Eureka asked, suddenly breaking through her timid silence. Xellien smiled his infamous smiled, liking the change from getting nowhere to somewhere. Renton, on the otherhand, didn't like this at all. Eureka and Xellien were conversing on agreeable terms, without warning, and he himself felt out casted and betrayed. Eureka, after everything, angered him.

"What we must do is take action immediately. We must falter this threat before it has chance to root." Xellien paused, implying that he was thinking. Renton, instead of taking action in his anger, decided it was best to cooperate. Then, an idea clicked.

He reached at his side and un-holstered a pistol. One he had slipped on without even considering. Without waiting, he aimed at the laptop.

"Stop!" Xellien jumped in front of Renton, and he barely had enough time to stop the squeeze of his finger. "This person taking advantage of the software I developed is no fool. I doubt blowing the laptop will stop them. Our better course of action is to keep the laptop, find him, and then fix the problem they have caused. If you destroy the laptop, than we lose our chance of finding them. I'm sure they were intelligent enough to take the program for themselves. It is the only way they could be reprogramming this fast." He paused and stared at Renton. His eyes wouldn't move or falter, but remained purely still, locked with Renton's.

"I must ask you Renton to abandon your anger and listen to me. I understand your goal to stop me as well, but this man may know the piece to move which will truly destroy all that we hold dear in the future. Even all that we know of the future." Renton didn't bite back a reaction. He stared at professor Xellien. The man had a point, that he couldn't deny, but he had no idea whether he should or shouldn't trust this man.

For a moment he just stared, Xellien didn't blink. Then, he nodded and turned back towards the door. Whether or not he liked it, Xellien had a point.

Breaking eye contact, "fine." Xellien smiled and looked between the two.

"Wonderful, now, we must hurry. The man or woman controlling these events are working faster than humanly possible, but the programming will still take them time." He sat back in the chair. "From here, I will monitor and tract where his position currently is. While I am-"

"Hey, wait," Renton interjected. Xellien raised his brows and glanced at Renton.

"I know what you're thinking, you don't wish for me to stay here while you run away searching for this man. But you must listen to what I have to say. I'm not asking you to trust me necessarily, but I am asking you to loan me your help in finding this person. Neither of you know how to tract the man using this computer and keep him from knowing you're conducting the search. I will keep in radio contact with you. Use these." He emerged two small devices in his hand which appeared to fit inside the ear.

Eureka reached forward and inserted the device easily into her ear. The two of them turned to Renton, he uneasily glanced back. Somehow, he didn't like this being gained upon.

Unwillingly he took the device and slipped it into his ear as well.

"Excellent, now hurry along. I will direct you as I tract the signal. Go." Eureka turned around and sped out the door. Renton watched as she left, then looked back at Xellien, who was curiously looking at him. The two yet again held and long silent gaze.

"I know what you see me as Renton. A lie, an arrogant man who believes he understands everything," his smile widened, "but I will inform you that you are farther from the truth than you'll ever know. Because, I am who I am for not knowing everything." Renton scowled at his smile. He didn't get what he meant by that comment nor did he care. Instead of replying, he figured he would receive more satisfaction by ignoring him.

"Renton," Xellien's voice called just before he passed through the door. He barely stopped. "Listen to me Renton. Don't make a mistake I know you'll regret. You must trust your feelings and the one whom you love. Heed not to the calls of your pride. Please, tru-" The words were cut off as the door shut. He didn't want to deal with that man anymore. The minute he was no longer in the presence of that _man_ the better.

He decided to push it from his mind and concentrate on the task at hand. It was only when he felt a small tender hand on his shoulder, that he suddenly felt aware of himself again, no longer lost in his chain of thinking.

He turned about slightly to see Eureka standing next to him. Her eyes seemed to break away and then reconnect. He, on the other hand, wouldn't break eye contact.

"Why did you do that?" He asked, motioning with his hand at the door. She only stared and then broke their gaze.

"I-" She stuttered, but no words escaped through her lips.

"We could have had him, we could have stopped him! Do you believe him too?" It was a question he held back, but now it slipped through. The thing that scared him, was not her betraying him in any manner, but what exactly she would feel on the matter. Renton trusted her feelings because she always had a sense for what was the right choice, the correct answer.

"No," he could feel the lie coveting the word. Surprise blared across his face and he turned away from her. It was true, she did trust Xellien, more than she trusted him.

"So you hesitated to stop him, because you believed him? And you didn't believe me?" He said, staring at the floor against his feet. A shiver wrapped around his skin when he heard no answer from her. He didn't know what to think, he wasn't unhappy with her, or angry at her. Her actions were completely based on the fears of losing him. But still, for the first time, he felt it too hard to even look at her.

A silence drifted between them like a thick wall. She wouldn't face him and he couldn't face her. He began to feel the need to say something, anything, but the desire only fed the idea of silence, and the wall grew. For no other reason, he couldn't understand why he couldn't look at her.

"Hello, did the connection finalize? Are you two hearing this communication?" Xellien's voice suddenly spoke into their ears.

"Yes," Eureka said, still avoiding Renton.

"Good, I apologize for the delay in my establishing the link. It's difficult to create a masked signal, if you can understand the technology they use in these days. No matter, I have it now, that is the important thing." There was a long moment of silence. They stood there with no exchange of words. "There we have__it, it is time to move forward now. Take the hall down and continue until you meet an intersection. Turn right and I will give you further instructions there."

Eureka nodded, though Xellien was not there to see it. She then began to move, but stopped, and turned her head barely to Renton, still not looking at him. Without an answer, he started forward and past her. The walked down the hall, found the intersection, and turned right. Xellien continued to give more commands as they went.

"Now, don't forget, we don't want to kill the man." Xellien was saying as they walked. "We don't know what his intentions are, and he may provide needed answers." Renton made no response as they walked.

Several explosions rung throughout the ship. Renton found himself sometimes stumbling to the side, catching himself against the wall, as Eureka paused next to him. She would only stand, facing him, but never looking at him. The stance partly scared him. After all this time, somehow, a wall was beginning to thicken between them.

He couldn't help but think that it needed to be stopped. While they moved in between the reflective walls, Renton could catch the glances of Eureka at him. Desperately he wanted to say something, but the words couldn't be unburied out of his stomach. It almost felt as if a layer was stacking itself on top of him, and he wasn't sure why. They had become so close, then why now were they suddenly drifting apart after one incident? Why now could he not utter words to her? He knew why, the feeling of betrayal, but now he wondered if he should fight it. They'd suffered through life together and bore the pains of saving the world. He had to fight it, but didn't know how.

Renton continued to follow the directions as Xellien gave them. The elder man's voice was so strong and cool in their ears. He felt the echoes of warning from Xellien draw forward from the back of his mind. The words began to grow, when suddenly, he heard a voice call back in his ear.

"Stop, you're at the destination. Whoever the artisan of these events be, lies in the door to your right. Please, proceed with caution. As I have said once before, we do not know their intentions. I would prefer to take more planning in this action, but I fear we do not have such time to spare." His voice cut off as he stopped. Renton stepped forward and placed a hand on the door's cold frame. The doors weren't like the ones that he remembered. Even as he placed his hand, the metallic frame would slide away automatically. Instead, he noticed a latch attached to the far left.

Carefully, he looked at Eureka, who for once was staring back at him.

"Ready?" He asked, getting a good grip on the handle. She gently shook her head and took his hand. Renton frowned slightly. She pulled his hand away and maneuvered around so that she was at the crack of the door. With a whip of her hand she had her gun easily gripped. Renton could tell she knew how to use a gun far better than him, but seeing her hold it triggered something inside him. He couldn't imagine her holding a gun like so. After fighting in the LFOs and avoiding killing people, why now would she be so quick to wield a weapon designed for death again? Perhaps, he thought, the fear of loosing Renton was gaining on her.

Carefully, Eureka let go of the door and reach for Renton's hand. She motioned to take it, hesitated, but then slipped her tender fingers into his. Their eyes met instantly.

"Renton," she said, "I'm sorry for what happened. I know I should have listened, but- but I felt he was telling," Renton's heart skipped a beat, "the truth." A shiver ran through his spine and he felt his entire body freeze with terror. He trust Eureka, utterly and completely trusted this girl, because he loved her. But that wasn't all, because she was also right. He knew her feelings often communicated the truth.

He took a gulp and attempted a smile. It was thin, weak, like a dried leaf on the sidewalk.

"It's alright Eureka, you were afraid, I was too. It's just, something about that man. I don't feel like I can trust him, but then, I do. But," he trailed off, looking back at the door, "I don't want to." They stood silent, the true silence broken, but the wall felt real between them.

Eureka moved, as if to say something.

"Hello?" A voice hummed into their ears. "Have you two passed through the door yet? What's going on?" Renton hesitated, waiting for Eureka to say what she was going to say, but she turned her eyes from him.

"No Xellien, we're continuing on." Eureka replied, and she gripped the door once more, her gun tight in her hands.

"Excellent, proceed as needed." Renton suddenly wished they were back on the moon. When at that place, and only the two of them remained, the very universe felt alive and real. If they could be there, Renton was sure Eureka would say what she wanted to. There nothing would touch them.

Eureka tightened her grip and pulled open the door. She heaved herself into the room, gun held steady in her hands. Renton followed quickly behind. Then they both stopped.

The floor, like most other rooms, was tiled with metal plates. A single light clearly lit up the room, but nothing filled the hollow space, all except for one thing. At the far back wall, subject to nothing but itself, was a single laptop. Its case laid open and screen glowed a soft blue. Renton frowned as he gazed at it, seeing something odd on the screen. He moved forward and glanced at what appeared to be writing.

"Well done, Xellien. But as I've declined this challenge, I now carry my victory to the future where you can follow no more. Adieu." Renton blinked, finding the message simple and strange.

"Are you two inside yet, what's going on?" Xellien asked through their speakers.

"Xellien, do you know any of the other two?" Eureka asked.

"Other two? What exactly are you inferring to?" Renton and Eureka both looked at each other.

"The Coralians had told us that three minds had traveled back to the past. We only found you to be one of them." There was a long pause.

"This will be a serious hinder to my plan. Blast…" Renton thought he could hear him gritting his teeth. But when he spoke next, it was utter calmness. "Why are you telling me this now? I need to know these things so I can enact them on future choices."

"The room we entered only has laptop, and on the screen it said "Nice try Xellien, but you've already handed me the winning piece. Good luck with the future!" Do you know anyone?" Eureka paused, staring at the wall, waiting for an answer.

"That is very strange indeed. I have no recollection of speaking my true name to anyone on board this ship. Except-." Another rumble shook the ship. "It appears we have a problem. Take the laptop, make sure it receives no harm." Eureka did as he asked. "In the meantime, it appears our plans have been severely cut short. The implications of this can be too devastating. Hurry and rendezvous with me in the hanger, all you need to do is followed down the hall." Before Renton or Eureka had the chance to say anything, the link disconnected.

"This doesn't feel right." Eureka said and started for the door. He hated it when she said anything like that. "The other two entities know what's going on."

"At least one of them, you mean." Renton answered as they ran down the hall. One of the lights exploded and showered a rain of sparks across the metallic floor. They finally reached the corner and turned towards a yellow lined door with the insignia of United Federation's Force. When they passed through, their eyes greeted the glare of red flashing lights. Herds of troopers were running around the platform to various bulky ships.

"What ship is it?" Renton yelled through the culmination of noise.

"Follow me." She said a little too quietly to make it through the chatter, but he managed to get the message and follow her towards the ship. They fought their way pass troops until they came across one tiny vehicle barely hidden out of site from all the other ship. No one noticed as they reached the ship and entered inside.

Eureka moved towards the front of the small and compact shuttle. Renton noticed the innards of the ship was practically all computer screens and control boards, he attempted to find a seat, but he couldn't even find the wall. He gave up hope and moved towards the front of the ship where Eureka sat at the controls, apparently powering up the shuttle. "How long should we wait?" he asked.

"However long it takes, wouldn't you agree?" she said, giving him an inquisitive look. He nodded slowly and then looked back to check the rear part of the ship. Nothing changed except for the plethora of consoles and wires, he couldn't help but feel as if he were in the lair of an evil mad-man, or at least a techno-obsessed freak. The probability in this case hinted a mixture of both.

He took the co-pilot seat and watched as the buttons flared to life. It took a moment, but he began to recognize the old designs of a TU-450 UF model. Taking a closer look, he noticed the ship had a set of controls he didn't recognize, but couldn't quite figure out any relation in his familiarity.

"Who are you?" A voice came from behind. Simultaneously, both Eureka and Renton turned around to see a woman with long deep red hair, valiant red eyes, and skin slightly paler than normal.

"Calm down, Shara, they're perfectly fine." Xellien's voice came as he walked into the shuttle. "I sent them here, isn't that right, Lieutenant Eureka and Lieutenant Renton?" he said, his smile almost filling the room with his ominous aura.

"Oh, Professor Xellien, I didn't expect you." Shara said. "I mean so soon." She finished quickly. Renton frowned slightly, noticing a nervous tension all about her when only moments ago she showed a sternness that would cause a lion to hesitate.

Xellien walked forward towards the front and stopped beside Eureka, who politely stood up and moved out of the way for him to sit down. His hands suddenly took on a new life as he keyed the shuttle to life. The back hatch closed and the shuttle easily lifted off the ground and out the hanger without so much as a squeak.

"Renton, you might find these controls interesting." Xellien said, gesturing towards the panel on the side Renton had been examining earlier.

"Yeah, I've never dealt with controls like that before. They seem familiar, but I can't really put my finger on it."

"It is a special adaptation technology to aerial controls dealing solely with wind, rather than trapper." Xellien smiled. "The ships are designed and equipped to fly without the need of trapar. Essentially, these ships are capable of flying with propulsion and specifically designed wings alone. Unlike other designs, where the ship can rest on the trapar much like a boat would on water, these ships cannot. Or at least, couldn't until I did a little tampering of my own." He shared a quick smile.

Eureka moved towards the console and gently drifted her fingers across the cool metal. "In our generation, we've become so dependent on trappar, that machine such as these are the far and the few." She looked over at Renton. "We're truly in the past."

Renton considered what she said for a moment, knowing exactly what she meant. They were both in a new world now, in a place they didn't fully understand, an almost foreign world. In other words, they had to be careful.

Xellien stood up and walked to the back of the ship. He appeared to fiddle with one of the consoles, but then turned around holding a mass of cables, which he rustled with for a moment and then just let drop to the floor.

The elderly man rubbed his chin for and smiled. "Yes, an old world indeed. They were far more dependent on cords back then instead of wireless technology. This little cluster of chaos you see is the manifestation of my attempt to gather the sufficient technology in order to reconstruct some of my later inventions. It's rather difficult, predictably." He paused for a moment and gathered more cords and began plugging them into a few more slots.

"Exactly how far into the past are-," Renton cut himself off as he noticed Shara staring at him, and suddenly realized he'd just spouted out who they were.

He searched around desperately, wondering what to do, when he suddenly noticed Xellien making eye contact with him. "You don't have to worry Renton, she knows." Both Eureka and himself gave him a surprised look. "Don't be so surprised, I didn't reveal anything to her until I was sure her purpose in knowing would be beneficial and wouldn't endanger the time line."

"So your just went off and told her?" Renton retorted.

"Better intentionally than unintentionally." he said. Renton felt his face warm for a second, but he knew he couldn't respond.

"Well, I think it was your intention, Professor, to keep me in the dark for this one. But it appears Eureka let the slip." Shara commented and sat down in the co-pilot seat.

"Indeed," Xellien said, looking up from the pile of cords and other mechanical nick-knacks. "From Renton, perhaps I could understand, but Eureka, I must say I'm surprised." The ship rocked briefly and Renton lost his footing, but he caught the edge of the wall and held himself.

"Sorry, it was not my intention." Eureka said with a look that caused Renton's heart to crunch slightly.

"Eureka it's-,"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Shara cut in. "I'm sure at one point or another the Professor would have revealed the information to me. He's not very good at keeping secrets."

Xellien coughed and the sound the of clump wars came from where he stood. "I wouldn't say I'm terrible." He cut in and gave Shara a quick look. "I'm just willing to but faith in people more often than others would. So far in the ventures of my life, it's paid off quite well."

"If you say so. I don't know why I'm still playing along with this. But I figure you're already here, so why should I care."

Renton sat back for a second, trying to comprehend everything he was hearing. Way back before he joined Gekko-Go, he could faintly remember reading comics about time travel and other fictional concepts. Still, living one left his stomach a little overturned, and found everything difficult to believe.

When he turned to look at Eureka, he caught her staring at him too. For a brief moment, he slowly began to realize the reason why they were there.

He moved next to Eureka and allowed Shara and Xellien to wander off into their conversation. "What do we do?" He asked.

"I don't know Renton." She said. "We can't just pull him out, can we? We know there are three others here, and Xellien didn't even know himself. He said he would help us, do you think we should follow him for now?" Renton agreed with what she was saying, but something about Xellien still bother him. That thing most likely pertaining to earlier events between the two of them and Eureka. The fact that Eureka was willing to go with what Xellien first instead of himself still silently bothered him. He didn't know why, but he felt better to bury the feeling and try to concentrate on the now.

"I guess we have no choice." Renton said quietly. "We have to trust him." His stomach twisted for just as a second as he said it.

Eureka looked at him and frowned. "Are you alright, Renton." He looked away and nodded his head. What could he tell her, not even he himself knew. But he couldn't tell her nothing and start to say something. Just as he opened his mouth, all order turned into chaos.

The ship jerked forward with powerful force and Renton flew off his feet. The edge of the control panel sped towards him at frightening speed, but instead he crashed into Eureka's stoamch. She caught him and turned just in time to throw them both against the wall. A yell burst from her lips as they slammed and she flew against the chair, again bouncing back and crashing into the opposite wall.

"Eureka!" Renton yelled, trying to catch up to her. Meanwhile, Shara dashed in front of him and jumped into the pilots seat. Xellien was right beside her, sitting at the co-pilots seat. Somehow they had both managed to avoid the powerful force, unlike Eureka and himself. He wondered if a situation like this one was not uncommon.

"Well, what is this we have here?" A voice curiously burst over the speakers. "Dr. James, is that you my friend?" The man said over the intercom, his voice thick with the accent that reminded him of a whistle.

Xellien grimaced slightly as he watched over the co-pilot panel, his eyes thinly covered with complacent thought. "Keliasu, old friend, was there something I could help you with on this lovely day?"

"Don't you dare get smart with me, Dr. James, I want exactly what we had promised, now."

Xellien flipped off the radio and looked at the others. "Oh dear." He flipped it back on again. "Unfortunately at this moment I do not have in my possession the object of which you require. I'm sure you've-,"

"Stop it James, I'm sick of this. How in Voderak's name are we to complete the project and end this cursed war if we do not impart our portion. We need it, James. Now." Keliasu said through the crackling speaker on the panel. Xellien paused for a moment, gently stroking the stubble of air on his chin. He opened his mouth to say something, but the ship violently rocked to the side, almost sending him out of his seat.

He viciously gripped the panel and leaned his head towards the microphone. "May I kindly ask you to stop firing at us?" Xellien said so calmly, Renton felt he would burst maddeningly

"Ah, James, you know I can't do that." A sense of gratification planted itself in Keliasu's words. "We have to keep this charade going for as long as we possibly can. It would seem strange for a voderak cruiser to be chasing after an insignificant shuttle for no reason, would it not?"

Renton swallowed. He had never heard the Voderak having any type of measurable war ship of any kind. The only true military power on the Earth was that of the U.F., and the U.F. would never allow the Voderak to exist with military power, at least for long.

"Very well, Keliasu, I'll have the information to you within the month."

The radio burst into a series of crackles as the other receiver laughed. "James, you and your promises. My patience can hold, at least for the time you've allotted. We shall see each other again." The radio clicked off and silence followed where its sound once filled their ears.

Renton felt uncomfortable at the sound. He briefly looked at the others, expecting to see the surprise on their face he was feeling. But Xellien and Shara revealed nothing, and to his own dismay, Eureka didn't seem bothered either. "I didn't think the Voderak had war-" He started, but Xellien twisted around with a look so fierce Renton literally felt a cork shoved down his throat.

"Shara, would you mind taking a look at the render display unit in the back, for me please?" Xellien said, his fierce look gone as soon as it came. Shara looked between the two of them for a moment. Subsequently she sighed and rolled her eyes before leaving to the back of the ship.

"Now, Renton, as for your question." Xellien said in a steady voice, one that would not carry to where Shara stood. "Although Shara may know that we're not exactly from this time frame, she is not aware of what the future consists of and how it may affect her. If we disclose to her certain facts and happenings, her moral stature may seek to counteract that possibility and therefore prevent it." He leaned back in his seat and looked out across the viewport. For moment, his eyes dazed slightly, as if recessed back into the deeper places of his mind. After a moment passed, he looked back towards Renton with very aware and non-judging eyes.

"It seems Renton, that you didn't pay much attention to your history classes, did you?"

Renton shifted uncomfortably. "Yes." He clenched his teeth for only a moment.

"And that therein lies the problem. Now of course, in history, the Voderak were viewed as aggressive warmongers. In reality, this is not so. Of course some of the Voderak tribes were in fact aggressive, and did seek to cause harm for their foolish traditions, but the more powerful tribe were not involved." Xellien said and slid a handle gently over the surface of the controls, as if testing the tactile design. "Contingently a war broke out between Voderak and other nations. The Voderak, at the time, were very well equipped and capable of defending themselves against other nations. The war waned, but eventually the separate nations joined together and formed the U.F.F., United Federations Force." He stopped and allowed Renton to fully swallow all of the information.

Renton felt both surprised and not surprise by what he was hearing. He knew the U.F. covered up their history as they liked, but he didn't know to this extent. Then again, he knew the U.F. were capable of hiding even greater secrets.

"Your father had consequently ended the war and took upon the title of a great hero with the Seven Swell. The war caused significant damage against other nations, and now," he took a breath, "they used the war to take away all military power from the Voderak. When the S.O.F. had laid siege to the great wall, innocent Voderak had nothing to defend themselves with." Xellien's stare shifted to Eureka. "They were utterly destroyed."

Eureka flinched slightly and looked away.

"Hey," Renton said and took a step forward. "That was a long time ago."

"Precisely." Xellien said with his majestic smile that left Renton between a mix of irritation and confusion. "Eureka, by not allowing yourself forgiveness, you are preventing yourself from greater progression. You are in fact limiting the potential of your body." He leaned forward and stared at her until she finally made eye contact. "Ashamed you may be, but at that time you knew little and understood less. Forgive yourself, Eureka, for your sake and Renton's." He stood up and started towards the back. "I'll leave you to yourselves. I'll discuss with you the plan as soon as I have that figured out." With a flicker of an amused grin, he turned around and joined Shara in the back.

As Xellien left with his smooth and intelligent voice, silence followed like a tangible substance stirring in the air. Renton walked over to where Eureka stood and leaned against the wall. His eyes wandered over the various controls, the hanging cords, and the beeping lights. But soon his eyes moved back to where Eureka stood next to him. They had finally finished the grand adventure pounding against them for over a year, one which hammered their lives until finally something beautiful emerged; their love. But here, on this small shuttle, he and Eureka yet again found themselves on another stressful task. He softly wondered if that would be their curse.

Eureka stirred slightly next to him. For the past several minutes she stared at the ground, not moving, and saying nothing. He reached down and took her hand in his. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"I know what he's saying is true." she said in a small whisper. "I know I have to let go of the pass, but it's so hard, Renton. I'm made mistakes I don't think I can forgive myself for, I don't think I'm worthy of forgiveness." She finished and once again became silent.

Renton wanted to say something, and so, he would. "Eureka, the past isn't something we can control. It is the course of choices and mistakes we've made over time. I'm not really sure what to say, Eureka, but I do know one thing." He stood in front of her and took both her hands in his. "You are truly, truly sorry for the things you've done, and have a kinder heart than I've ever seen before in my life." He swallowed. "I know I'm not that old, or know much of anything, but I know Eureka that your more than worthy for forgiveness. You gave yourself to save the world." He smiled and took her into a tight hug. Tears began to pool on the edges of her eyes. "So please Eureka, for me, forgive yourself." She planted her face into his shoulder and gently nodded.

"Thank you Renton." She whispered. And Renton realized, in that instant, knew he needn't worry at all. Eureka was with him, they were together. As long as he could look pass his own selfish recollections and ideals, then they could unite as a true couple; true lovers. He felt guilty for his early thoughts against Xellien and Eureka. She knew what to do and simply played it smarter than he was in those moments. Eureka trusts her feelings, and in turn, he should trust her. But still, the foretelling of Xellien and Eureka's own worry reminded in his mind. He couldn't let it go, but also couldn't allow it to fall in between him and Eureka.

"Don't mind if I bother you two for a moment, do you?" Shara's voice suddenly intervened. A month ago they would have separated in surprise and awkwardness, but now they truly loved each other and wouldn't allow such childish emotions get in the way.

Eureka wiped her face and the both of them faced Shara. An odd frown played across her face, one Renton couldn't quite describe as either concern or worry. "Is something wrong?" Eureka asked.

Shara sighed. "Not quite. I'm not fully sure of it myself. Mr. Know-It-All back there says we need to touch down at New Port Indin." Renton suddenly felt Eureka's hand tense, if but slightly, in his grip. He wanted to ask why, but Shara continued. "He won't say why."

"Not quite true." Xellien countered as he entered into the front of the shuttle. "If what you say is true about the arrivals, then we'll need a way to find them. Correct?" Eureka said nothing, but eventually nodded. Renton could catch the slightest look in her eye, but though he tried, he couldn't decipher its meaning. "Good, I do have my methods, Renton, Eureka. Once we land at base, I believe that I can produce such a method that would enable us to find the others."

"What is that exactly?" Renton asked carefully and knew full well that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"By what else, young friend?" Xellien smiled and looked out the viewport. "My greatest master piece, my own Mona Lisa."

He took a wealthy breath. "The Inverse Drive."

**Read and review, please?**

**Sorry for having disappeared. **


	12. Chapter 12: An Instance

**Chapter Twelve: An Instance**

The wind drifted softly over the great spanning fields of grass. With it, the frizzy green rippled and waves of reflected light washed over the vast landscape, as if beating with life. Every pulse, every touch filled Renton's heart with peace and serenity. He sat on the grass next to Eureka who rested against him. They both felt the pulse of the land, the beating texture of life and wonder that filled their vision.

They had been there once before, surrounded by such pure calm, where all the calamities of life were walled outside.

"I could be here forever." Renton whispered as he held Eureka next to him. She smiled gently and nodded.

"But you can't." A voice answered from behind and Renton's entire body tensed. He wasn't sure why the voice scared him so, but the sweet toned and concerned voice acted as a reminder of how things really were. The place of reality that existed outside those walls he could see.

He lowered his head and looked over Eureka leaning against him. How she did not hear it, he didn't know.

"Renton, you have to stay strong, you have to be strong if you are to make it through these times." The woman called from behind. "Please, forgive us."

Renton's eyes shot open. His eyes fell on the glowing screens and the slither of cords across the floor. Wind filtered over the sides of the ship in a muted hum, and as he looked forward, he noticed it had become night while they were asleep. The entire inside of the shuttle was dark and only the computer screens gave a faint glow.

Looking over, he noticed Eureka was still asleep and smiling. As he watched, the distant specters of his dream called to his thoughts like an unwanted reminder.

"That dream." he whispered. The place they had been to before with the vast green field surrounded by tall cliffs. Both Eureka and himself had gone to similar place back when they passed through the great wall, a memory not so long ago.

"Awake there, Renton?" Renton looked up to see Xellien studying the one of the monitors. He hadn't even noticed him come up, the man never made a sound.

"Yes." He answered and looked towards the front of the shuttle. "Are we there?"

"Just about, you woke up at the appropriate time." Xellien stopped and looked at Renton. His eyes stared for a moment and then turned back to the screen. "Is something wrong?"

Renton frowned. He hadn't said anything or done anything to his own knowledge, but even without a minute of talking, Xellien had already picked up on Renton's mood. "I'm alright."

Xellien smiled. "Ah, so I see. Perhaps you've encountered a bad dream?"

"Something like that." Renton conceded. Xellien was both an interesting and mysterious man. He could have tried to resist his probing, but knowing the man, he would have found out anyhow.

"Hm, our dreams are intriguing windows into the fast meanings held inside our minds and soul. If one keeps track of them enough, one might find a pattern." He grinned softly and glanced at Renton. "I find that, sometimes, perhaps the coralians have tried to reach out to humans through their dreams. Visual image when compared to all other forms of language is the most basic and easy to understand." He turned back to his monitor. "The only thing limiting its abilities is not understanding, but rather perspective. Such is a limitation in all language no matter how sophisticated its structure." Xellien let out a subtle sigh and continued on with his work.

Renton wasn't sure what exactly the professor said, or even what he was getting at, but talking about it only harrowed up the memories of the dream. He wondered who was the woman, what did she mean, and what did it have to do with them? Eureka couldn't hear the voice, so was the message solely meant for him?

The questions burned in his thought until he grumbled and hit his head against the back of the shuttle. No matter how much he thought about it, there simply wasn't enough information. He decidedly closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander. After only a moment of doing so, the shuttle shifted in momentum.

Xellien turned his head towards the front. "Have we arrived?"

"According to the big thing on the ground in front of us, I would have to say yes." Shara answered in her strange tone of sarcasm. Renton wondered what kind of life it took to produce a voice like that.

"Good, set the shuttle down in landing port 707-A." He moved to the front of the ship. "And make sure to send the proper recognition codes to the port. This area is known for several security breaches dealing with the Voderak. I would hate to conclude this day with unnecessary violence." He said and placed an arm on her chair. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Shara sighed and queued a few buttons. "Completely, Doctor."

The shuttle tore through the wild air pushing against the ship. Reflecting off the hull, the New Port Indin lights shined brilliantly off the cool black metal. Bellow the ship the base looked like a network of beacons and red dots, almost like a glowing circuit board. Off to the side of the base the large battleships rocked silently in the water. The ocean itself appeared like a dark breathing mass stretching on over the horizon, except for a single pillar of pure white light from the moon. The white slivers shifted and dance on the water like angels swimming playfully over the surface. The sight was oddly beautiful.

The vision disappeared as the shuttle lowered down into the base where Shara placed the vehicle atop a raised platform. At the back of the shuttle, the ramp hissed and lowered its thick ramp until it touched on the slick, reflexive floor.

Xellien stepped out of the shuttle and absorbed his surroundings. The facilities were much like those he could remember. Boxy shaped, bright and dim lights that illuminated the entire area, but failing where ghostly shadows crept into the corners. The buildings were closely knit together and several stories high. Dozens of walkways surrounded each floor of the boxy buildings.

When Xellien turned around, he observed the dozens of other landing pads surrounding them, as well as the two very large ones off to their sides.

One by one the other attendees exited the ship. First was Shara who, Xellien occasionally noticed, walked out with a bored and underlie excited look about her face. Next Renton and Eureka, hands intertwined in a gentle but tight gesture.

Renton let go of Eureka and walked up next besides Xellien. "Where are we going now?"

"We don't really have much time to waste, now do we?" Xellien answered with a question, something he did too much. "Let us continue to my personal research quarters and asses our situation from there, shall we?" He turned around and gestured with a hand towards one of the doors. Renton gave him a look and then followed.

They moved down the brightly lit walls and pathways of the base. No matter where they walked, the place always seemed empty of people. They ran into the occasional guard, who gave them a stern stare as they passed, but other than that, nothing.

The trip was long and there was little to watch. Finally, after another few minutes had gone by, they stepped down a set of stairs. They moved onto a large field of wet grass, which felt odd after having been walking on hard ground for so long.

Across the grounds, a rather large building separate from the rest sat in the middle of the field. Once Xellien saw it, his step suddenly became quicker and more energetic. "I haven't seen this place in years." Xellien commented excitedly as they drew closer. "This was the place the government granted me to work on my project with whatever equipment I desired and with whatever discretion required." He suddenly became quiet and Renton noticed his feet slowed if but slightly. "Perhaps that's where it all began, with that one simple statement assigned in the order. 'Whatever discretion required.'" he whispered quietly.

They reached the door. Xellien placed his hand on a panel next to the handle and a blue light swiped across the surface. He then reached down and hit several combinations on a pad bellow. When he finished, the door shifted back and slid to the side where light opened out across the dark grounds.

Xellien walked through without a word. Shara hesitated but followed in as well. Renton started forward himself, but as he started to go, Eureka's grip on his hand tightened and he stopped.

He turned to look at her and noticed the look over concern on her face that he had come to know all too well. "I know Renton what we have to do, but-," she faltered and looked around at the ground. Renton wanted to say something, but no matter how hard he searched his mind, he drew nothing. Seeing Eureka this way dug at him violently, but Xellien's prophetic words still rung terror in his heart.

She looked up at Renton. "What should we do, I don't know anymore. I can't," she said but stopped, "I can't stand the thought of you-," she began against but couldn't finish. Her eyes broke off and stared at the door, as if the answer her heart desperately desired were just a few feet away, but at the same time she looked on with built at the possibility.

Renton, not knowing what else to do, stepped forward and took her in an all encompassing hug. She held him back, tightly, tighter that she had ever before as if it were the last time. He guiltily realized the gesture scared him.

"Eureka, Renton, are you coming inside?" Xellien's voice came from the door.

Renton didn't want to let go, but he pulled away and turned towards the door. "We have to make a decision at one point, don't we?" He asked to something other than themselves.

Eureka didn't answer. She instead took his hand and led him inside the building. When inside, all of their worries faded into the background of their thoughts. In the center of the room a powerful display laid itself for all to see.

A large circular display sat in the middle of the room. Scattered across the display little and small devices stood, some appearing like computer stripped of their outer shell. Some of the pieces took on the shape of what looked like millions of plastic strings woven together into a thicker rope, and some glowed a dark, dark color of green.

Surrounding the center of the display were four rectangular objects, and at the very tip of each was a red glowing sphere. In the very center, towering over the rest, was a single small tower lined with glowing circuits of green, and at the very top sat a glass box which almost hummed the same color.

The entire display appeared like a mini city, with the different shining pathways filled with green and red, the towers, and the glowing lights.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Xellien asked from where he stood atop one of the pads. "This is a very stripped down version of a compact drive, with the individual sections enlarged and separated. The different parts are connected through the lower mother board." He began to work with a keyboard off to his side. "This is the very first prototype I designed. I've restricted the compact drive so that I may work with the pieces quickly and decisively." He pointed out to the center piece. "That is the main trapar processing interpreter with my own modifications. At this time, I was barely on the verge of finishing the device and making it possible to control individual thoughts."

Renton opened his mouth to ask a question. "Don't be so rashly quizitive, I'm moving to that point." he said before Renton to ask. "This device is designed to directly read the different pulses in the waves." He paused for just a moment. "Or perhaps, rhythms would be a better word."

"The device in its primitive form will allow me to alter its interpretation parameters. The inverse drive, unlike a compact which analyzes the state of the trapar, can actually target a specific space of trapar and record its rhythm." He clicked at the controls. "In this case, I will record our own specific affects on the trapar." He said and gave a tight smile. "A trait taken from the compact drive itself. So if you'll give me a moment."

Xellien took a few moments to work the commands. Once he finished, the pad suddenly came to life. The different pathways and circuits began to glow bright reds and greens. With a bright flash of white, the device came to life. The green literally pulsed through the crevice in the device like the blood of the machine. A thick red aura hovered over the center tower, following in the same beat, but becoming thicker every moment.

Suddenly, the very top cube turned a thick blood red. The surrounding red mist began to swerve around the device, occasionally flashing out with tentacles of and then slurping back in. The gas sucked into the center, drawing closer and closer until it formed a vortex around the cube. Renton stared in awe. It reminded him of the times he'd seen pictures of in their own galaxy.

"That's incredible Xellien." Shara muttered quietly, standing only a few feet from the device.

"Careful, the inverse drive is drawing in the trapar and condensing. If you were to touch that area of space, I'm not quite sure what it would do."

Eureka's hand tightened inside of Renton's. He felt a flash of surprise as he saw her stare into the mini-galaxy in terror. "What is it Eureka?"

"I don't know what it is. I've never experienced this kind of voice before. It sounds like yelling." Her lip quivered for just a moment. "It sounds like screaming."

"Like in pain?"

"Anger."

"What?" Renton's brows furrowed deeper. He'd never heard Eureka describe anything like that before.

"I'm not sure how to describe it. But I can hear it Renton, can't you?" She asked and then looked up at him. Renton thought for a moment and then turned his eyes to the vortex. He stared into for a moment and felt his thought numb as he stared deeper in. He felt himself moving towards the device without taking a step. A deep hum began to enter his ears

Frowning, he took a step and looked deeper into the vortex, searching for the sound he thought he was hearing. The humming grew louder, deeper, and thicker in his ears. An image flashed through his mind, powerful and clear. He saw a galactic ball of fire with burning eyes and mouth filled with thick darkness. It fiery eyes turned on Renton, blazing with power and rage. The mouth opened wide, ready to consume him. As the mouthed opened, a rush of incinerating heat rushed around his body.

Everything vanished and Renton stumbled back. His breath was heavy and he quickly looked around the room to understand what had just happened. He noticed the machine was off and nothing else but that fact had change. When he looked up, he noticed Shara and Xellien were looking over the controls, but Eureka was still with him.

"Renton?" she called his name quizzically. Renton saw the look of concern edged into her brows, and he realized in that moment that the entire thing had been a vision.

He wetted his dry mouth and wiped off the sweat spread over his forehead. "I'm sorry." He partly whispered. "Did you see it too?"

She looked at him for a moment. "What do you mean, see what? The noise from disappeared once the device stopped." She gently touched the side of his face. "Are you ok?"

"Renton, Eureka, I have it." Xellien said as he passed by the two, siphoning Renton's chance to answer Eureka. "Quickly, we have to leave right now."

"Xellien? You can't just make all of these alterations and then just leave it recorded into the records. Won't that do- I don't know," she struggled for the words, "screw up the time thingy-ma-gingy?"

Xellien urgently beckoned her towards the door. "No, we'll be fine, trust me."

The room went dark and began flashing a deep red. Powerful sirens rang throughout the entire facility, stinging Renton's ears at the sudden burst of sound. They all escaped from the building.

"What's happened?" Eureka asked as they ran back across the yard, and just moments after, the building suddenly exploded. Renton and Eureka shot a look at the now shattered incinerated building that was once Xellien's research facility.

Shara took a step forward and gazed into the fiery fumes of the building. The pad, the mini-city, and everything else lay in a heap of shredded metal. "Were we discovered?"

"Not exactly, may we please hurry?" Xellien urged but stood perfectly still and patient. Seeing as how they already had enough evidence to just listen than ask, the four went to a brisk walk. "The base is under attack, and my younger self knew of the coming attack before I did. So I set my research to self destruct and I field the base hours before the invasion even occurred."

With that last sentence, the entire sky became illuminated in orange fire. Streams of missiles fell and burst out across the horizon, pluming out in thick black clouds of smoke and cinder.

At the site of this, the four of them quickened their pace just a tad bit faster. Renton wasn't anxious to become the very thing they had only just left behind.

"Xellien, you said you had it. What exactly is it that you have?" Eureka said as they turned around a building and the landing pads came into view.

"I was able to reprogram the software so that I may incorporate a type of compass towards our outwardly auras." He took a breath. "According to the map, the nearest of the arrivals area, as well, they appear to hiding amongst a select fleet of ships hovering about that sector." He said as they approached the shuttle and entered inside.

"Shara." Xellien called after her. She stopped and faced him with an urgent look. "Pass through attack zone." Xellien said and pointed at the glowing horizon. Shara shot him a brief but powerful look of confusion. "It's nothing more than a fear tactic to keep people walled off from a certain direction. The Voderak use this strategy on occasion in order to narrow down plausible escape routes. In this case, we have nothing to fear, just past through it."

She hesitated, staring out over the blazing wall of fire caused by missiles from the Voderak attack ships. The flames spread high into the sky, and explosions rang throughout the chaos, which disappeared into ghostly echoes

Gritting her teeth, she nodded and started inside the and Renton made for the shuttle, and the minute Renton stepped on, the shuttle blasted off the ground, leaving Xellien behind.

Renton stumbled back but fell into the enclosing hatch rather than out of the ship-to his great relief. He stood up and rushed to the front of the shuttle to gather exactly what was happening, and as he reached the viewport, he could see the intense orange glow brightening.

"Shara-Shara! We can't leave, Xellien didn't get inside the ship. He didn't have time." Renton yelled desperately and threw his hands around a ceiling handle to steady himself.

"He's not coming." Despite the loud noise, silence swept through the small pilot chamber.

Eureka recovered first. "He's not coming aboard?" Shara shook her head.

"He said he had other business to attend to.

"And you just let him go, just like that? Without even giving us a splick of a warning? Renton said, fury rising.

"Don't give me that, I have no idea what you guys are doing here and I'm not really all that anxious to find out what."

"But you can't just let him go off like that, how are we supposed to meet up with him, how can we trust him?"

"Listen to me." Shara sternly interrupted him. "I have no idea, not even a comprehension of what the strangest group of people I've ever encountered in my life," she breathed, "are planning to do or whatever their purpose is. At this moment, Xellien ordered me to watch over you two, and he left it at that. I've never questioned his orders before, I've never had reason to. Don't hold me accountable."

Renton gritted his teeth for a moment, but he knew that she had a point, and slowly he let the frustration drain. To think that now Xellien was gone, their grip on the mission had gone from small to none. Now their only lead was that of the spot Xellien, the man who just escaped, had pointed out on the map. A man he should have never trusted. He cursed himself for giving in, he cursed himself for letting his trust for Eureka blind his own judgment.

Uneasily, he ushered the thoughts from his mind and looked over at her. She, unlike himself, took on the epitome of calm.

"Eureka?" Renton said as she stared out the view port. The shuttle moved calmly, despite the distant rumbles of explosions. "What are we going to do, we've lost Xellien and now we're following a lead he gave us."

She dazed for a moment and then slowly turned her eyes to Renton.

"I'm sorry Renton, I should have listened to you." Within those words, he could see for the first time, Eureka was desperately trying to hide her emotions. A feeling of guilt passed for his earlier thoughts. "I'm just so scared for what's going to happen Renton, I don't know who we can trust anymore." Her voice suddenly became silent and weak. "We shouldn't have taken up this task, we should have-," a tear slipped down her cheek, "I don't want to know what I've learned here, Renton." She suddenly broke away from the wall and pushed into his arms. Merely through reflex, he quickly tightened his arms around her, but he too felt the stress of what was happening.

Here they were, stranded in the past, trying to complete a mission they didn't exactly volunteer for or completely understand. He wondered what in the world they would do now or how were they going to find Xellien. He simply didn't know. And as that thought passed over his mind, it felt like the world began to turn its back on them. They were truly lost.

Eureka pulled her head away, but she wouldn't let go of him. "Renton, do you know what we should do now?"

The question struck against his brain. His stomach twisted. His thoughts fogged. And so, he lied. "Yes, I know exactly what we're going to do." He struggled for only a moment to say. Right now, they both needed some direction, some place to go. "We're going to follow the lead Xellien gave us.

"But what if he's lying?"

"Then we find another way." He answered, and from that he started to remember how big the world was.

"You two." Shara suddenly interrupted their moment. They both looked over at her. "Looks like we've escaped the invasion, Xellien was right, there were no forces pass the wall. It's going to be a couple of hours before we get to the point Xellien marked. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable," she sighed, "because I'm going to go insane from all of this." Letting off another sigh, she turned the bow of the ship towards the east and accelerated.

"So the battle amounted to nothing…" Eureka gently whispered.

"For us, I guess not. But what about all those people at the science facility?"

"I don't know Renton." The tears began to pour again. Renton pulled her into his tight hug and held her as close as he could. Together, they could face the pain, he knew that. As long as they stayed together, they could take whatever the world threw at them, they could handle even this. Nothing would break them, as long as they were together.

The shuttle bounced on the waves as turbulence increased over the ship. Inside, Renton and Eureka huddled into one of the corners, still close, but now relaxed. Even though she had rested before, Eureka was once again asleep in his arms. Seeing her in this state unstressed Renton significantly from before. Just knowing she could escape everything happening now, gave him a moment's happiness.

_As long as they were together_, he thought, _together_.

The shuttle jerked in the air and Renton felt the G's increasing around his body. He looked out the window to see the night stars falling down beneath the shuttle, and after a moment, he noticed a large black shadow come into view.

"Shara?" He inquired.

She didn't answer. Instead, she worked at the communication panel for a moment, clicking on a few of the button. She took the mike and then pulled it over to her. "_Valiance_, this is shuttle mark 203-N, we request a logging aboard your ship for business, may I confirm and dock in your bay." Silence filled Renton's ears as he waited through the stillness of the shuttle for a reply. Minutes passed without a word.

"203, you were a part of the Izumo fleet, were you not?" The deep voice suddenly burst through the radio."

"Correct, this is agent Shara Cowell of the UFIO."

"United Federation Intelligence Organization, hm?" The voice greasily crackled through the speaker. Shara waited for more, but the radio remained silent for longer than what Renton expected.

The silence continued to build, and build, and suddenly he began to feel comfortable.

He turned to Shara when suddenly a loud snap popped through the speaker. "Your identification checks out, agent. Proceed to land at my ship in the second docking bay, and be sure you land well. The last operative scratched the side of my recently painted ship. We had to pull him out of the ocean and gather whatever was left of the vehicle." A sign warbled and cut off.

"Then that is that." Shara commented coolly as she brought the shuttle around the massive shadow of a cruiser. When they turned around, the shinning white hanger turned into their view, appearing abnormal compared to the dark sky and ghostly ship.

Shara gently pushed the wheel forward, and the shuttle followed pursuit and dipped inside the ship, coming to a gentle rest on the reflexive floor. She reached few of the levers, pulled them back, tapped a few buttons, and allowed the ship to hum back to sleep. The engine shut off and the panels blinked off. The entire ship turned off.

Shara stood up and made her way to the back of the shuttle. "According to Xellien, the man we're looking for is somewhere here. But," she tightly gripped the back hatch level, "that dot didn't specify any one ship, all we know is that they're here. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Where are we going to start?" Eureka asked as she stumbled to follow her to the back.

"You're asking me?" She said and raised both brows at her. "You're the time travelers here, you figure it out. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm helping a bunch of mindless idiots or something else entirely." She shook her head and gripped the handle.

"Shara." Renton quickly said before she pulled it down.

She hesitated a moment and then turned back to Renton. "What?"

"You're not going to abandon us, are you? We don't know much about this time, it's before we were born. We'll need help getting around." He stared into her eyes, not daring deviate. Shara stared right back.

She stood straight, walked forwad, and then gently put a hand on Renton's shoulder.

"Renton." She began in a voice he had not yet heard from her, a voice mimicking somberness. "I've known Doctor James for a long time, he's a good friend of mind, and I will support him in his decisions." She took her hand away and drew herself up to full high, almost matching up with himself. "When Xellien took over, I noticed immediately, but still. I've come to know Xellien and I have placed my trust with him, and he within myself. When I told him I would look after the both of you with my life." Silence swerved into the space between them, she let it build, gain thickness and strength to support what she was about to say. "I meant every last word, and I seal that word with the things I hold closest to myself." She stopped and stared into Renton's eyes.

Renton could feel the empathy tied into those words, and when she finished, he couldn't doubt them. In the short time they've know Shara, he'd now learned to trust her. With the world they were stranded in now, he couldn't be happier with the fact that they had at least found someone they could trust, a someone who would be willing to give it all to them.

The thought sent rivets of comfort through the overbearing stress that had been weighing down as of late. He suddenly wondered Shara was and why she chose to involved herself with everything happening. But above all of those question, he wondered why she trusted Xellien so much, when he couldn't find reason to trust him at all. When he had the chance, he would have to ask.

Shara had moved back to the lever and pulled it down. The hatch hissed for a moment and then slid down, forming a ramp out of the ship. All three of them walked forward and out into the bright lights of the hanger bay. What Renton first saw through his squinting eyes froze him completely in place

Two lines of soldiers stood at either side in front of them, and at the very end of the line a man with young skin but a mature face stood tall. His eyes were cool, almost lifeless as he looked into them. He wasn't quite sure how to describe that hollow look, like a darkness nestled inside the man's head.

As the man stepped forward, his feet moved soundlessly, until he stood as the edge of the ramp.

"Good day, Agent Cowell." He said, his eyes flowing to Renton and Eureka, and then back to Shara. His voice reminded Renton of the wind drifting through the forest, far and distant and yet the sound still sent shivers through the spine. "I'm afraid I have terrible news for you, Miss Cowell." The man clasped his hands behind his back and stared into her eyes, silently urging her to inquire further.

"What?" She humored his emotionless face.

"I'm temporarily relieving you of your rank and status in the military. As of this moment, you are subject to investigation by the command of this ship under suspicion of treachery."

"WHAT?" She screamed, her voice bouncing between the wide open space of the hanger.

"Please, refrain from excitement, I'm sure it's no more than," he stopped and looked over at Renton, "a misunderstanding. I'm afraid you both will be coming with me as well."

"But we haven't done anything." Renton said, worry inkling into his voice accidently. He didn't expect this to happen, and he didn't even want to dare to know how this would affect Eureka and himself.

"I do apologize young lieutenant, but you must take clarity to why these actions are being insured." The man turned around and waved his hand to one of the soldiers. Four of the soldiers in precise unison towards them, each hold a hefty gun, aimed and ready at them.

"What's your name a rank, you don't have the authority!" Shara said and smacked one of the guns out of her face.

"I am Admiral Colins." He said and shared a lazy glance in her direction. Renton noticed the look of confidence of Shara's face turn pale. "And I have enough authority to execute you right here without reason or cause. This is war, ex-agent Cowell, watch your words carefully. Now if you'll please follow me to your new holdings?"

Once the soldiers had a good grip on them, they were dragged and pulled on their way to wherever the general was taking them. Renton desperately wished to speak with Eureka, but every time he opened his mouth, the soldiers poked him in the back with their guns, taunting him to silence.

He unwilling submitted to patience as they walked down the halls of the ship. In only a few minutes, they finally stopped and the Admiral turned around.

"Take the two woman to their new quarters and submit a report of this happening to the captain. I'm sure he's anxious to know what is taking place." The Admiral's lips cracked slightly, what Renton could only guess to be a smile or a smirk.

"What?" Eureka intervened and reached for Renton's hand, but just as she did, a gloved hand shot out and pulled her back. The soldiers kicked her in the stomach and threw her against the wall. A vicious thud filled the hall as she smacked the wall and fell to the ground, out cold. Renton gritted his teeth and charge, but just as Eureka, the guards had him down in a matter of seconds.

They kicked him in the stomach and he fell to the ground gasping for breath. Shara watched, calmly, not daring to interrupt. The Admiral studied the situation with a curious eye, and once the two lieutenants were successfully detained, he continued. "Good work men, continue on with the orders previously given. As for the boy, ask for Doctor Hasine and make sure she brings the proper equipment for interrogation."

"Interrogation, captain?" Shara said coolly and watched him carefully.

He smiled a shallow threatening smile. "Whatever it take to win a war and achieve peace."

She dared to challenge those words, and unable to resist the arrogance stored in her mind, she did. "Only when its for the right a proper cause, not to sickening assumptions." He didn't reply, but only stared at her for a brief moment. His shoulder granted a miniscule shrug and then he waved his hand. The soldier jerked Shara forward and dragged the limp Eureka.

Renton still gripped the pain that felt like a dent in his stomach. He barely caught a glimpse of Eureka through his fuzzy eyelashes as she disappeared around the corner, a flimsy doll compared to their strong grips. He tried to yell in defiance, but his voice came out as no more than a whither of air through his throat.

"Poor thing, you gave him quite the kick, didn't you young man?" The general ticked his tongue and shook his head. The uniformed men than reached down and lifted him to his feet, Renton tried to shake from their grip, but even in the attempt, their arms only grew tighter around his own. Helplessly, he gave in and became limp himself, allowing his weight to become their grievance as they dragged him.

"Take the boy as the orders require. And inform the commander." The soldiers left and the general stood in the hall, his ghostly eyes watching as they drew farther down into the dim confines of the ship.

The darkness began to fade into light, gently smoothing its way into the black before her eyes. She felt something dragging across her feet, a cold, and solid something. Finally, after a moment, her eyes opened and she could see that nothing was dragging across her legs, but rather, her legs were dragging across the floor. She gently lifted her head to see Shara walking with a gun to her back. In that instant, her old training sense kicked in.

Three guards in total were with them, two dragging her, and one keeping a check on Shara. Her eyes studied the floor carefully, and assumed the hall was three meters in width. With the older design, some of the pipes lined the walls, exposing themselves to any passerby's. She knew she could make use with such an old flaw.

She began to count the steps, flashes of Renton appearing in her head with every one. She let those images drive her, give her energy and meaning to what she was about to do.

"Nine." She whispered. One of the guards twisted his head down and frowned, only to see a foot rushing up towards his face. Before he could react, he was already flying through the air. Eureka twisted out of the grip of the other guard and swung her other foot at a joint on the exposed pipe. The metal cracked open a stream of high pressured coolant discharged into the hall. The highly cool gas sprayed into the man, knocking him against the wall and then knocking him out.

Eureka prepared herself for the last guard, but when she turned around, she found Shara dusting her hand and a very knocked-out soldier beside her.

"Alright, follow me." Shara motioned with her hand and started down the hall. Eureka stared down at the scattered bodies around her and then followed.

"Do you know where Renton is?"

Shara shot a look back at her. "Of course not, we don't have a chance of finding him, Eureka. We're getting out of here."

"What, what do you mean?"

"I mean that we don't have time to find where he is, make a plan, and then actually save him, let alone get off the ship. We only have time for one of those, and that's get the out of here before they get us again."

Eureka struggled for words, her eyes dashing around the hall until she finally stopped completely. "What do you mean, we can't just leave him. I won't go. I won't leave without him." Shara stopped and looked down the hall. She turned back to Eureka and gave her a cool stare.

"Listen Eureka, I would be sympathetic and caring as you like, but you need to be realistic. We don't have the time to help." She took a step forward. "This is a command ship, and therefore it is packed with five hundred personnel. When they figure out we're gone, the ship's entire security will go off and we'll be found in seconds. If we want to leave, we have to leave _now. _We won't be able to help him if we're capture again."

Eureka wanted to deny it, but her mind knew the reality of the situation. If they didn't leave that very moment, they would be captured and would be no better use to Renton in that situation.

Still, even as she knew the truth, her heart ached against it. She knew if only she had the Nirvash none of this would be a problem.

Her heart twisted with her thoughts as she tried to come to a decision. Tears slowly swelled at the edges of her eyes, a single drop passed over her cheek and fell to the floor. She knew the answer. She had to be realistic, no matter how much the pain hit her.

"Let's go." she whispered. Shara's eyes opened wide, clearly surprised at the easiness of convincing Eureka. Before she could say another word, Eureka was already off on her feet running down the hall. She only waited a second to catch up to her.

Making it through the ship was far easier than Shara had hoped. They snaked their way around the various vehicles and fighters. As they mad their way, Shara couldn't help but noticed that none of the guards would stop them. Then she suddenly remembered they were wearing uniforms and it was unlikely that everyone knew they were traitors.

"It looks like we might make it out of here without a problem." Shara said as they crossed towards their shuttle. Eureka didn't say a word, she simply walked.

They made their way into the shuttle and began to prep the engines, and as Shara had expected, the entire area turned into a flashing bulb of red.

"That's our cue!" Shara muttered as she kicked the engines into action. Without appropriate preparations, the ship wasn't quite ready to lift up and fly. The jets on the back fired to life and the shuttle dragged across the floor, sending skitters of sparks in a flurry all around them. Warning lights and alarms beeped everywhere inside the ship. Eureka quickly shut them off.

"They're closing the doors." Eureka said a little too calmly.

"I see that, blast, we have to get off the ground or we'll just crash into the closing hatch."

"Give me the controls." Eureka said.

"What?" Shara said, not liking the idea already.

"Give me the controls, I'm familiar with this technology as well."

Shara hesitated a moment, staring at Eureka as the options swirled inside her head as well as the current situation and the dangers involved therein. She knew it was a risk, but as it was, she couldn't think of what to do.

Reluctantly she jumped out the seat and Eureka jumped inplace.

Her hands quickly shot between the different controls and then rested on the flying wheel. She pulled back and suddenly the shuttle lurched forward. Shara barely had enough time to strap herself into the co-pilot seat before the force almost threw her out.

The shuttle bounced into the air and did a single summersault. Outside the viewport, the hanger and door became nothing more than a mixture of red and silver. Shara watched as the mixture abruptly turned into a solid blue. Eureka in that instant turned the controls, flipped them back, and then pushed them forward again.

A splash of grew flew up over the canopy. Shara felt like a thousand G's piled against her body as they came to a swift but steady stop. She waited a moment, letting the spinning feeling in her head slow to a stop.

"Now that we're outside the ship, how do we escape?" Eureka asked, completely untouched by what had just happened.

"How did you get us off the floor and out?" Shara had to asked, only after she calmed her breathing. She wouldn't let this future girl best her.

"I angled the gets so we flipped out of the ship."

Shara felt her jaw drop a few meters. "You what? How in the world did you calculate that kind of aim without crashing into the door, the side, or the ground?"

"I just did…" Eureka muttered and looked out the viewport. "How do we get out of here before they catch up to us?"

Shara paused for a moment, trying to get her thoughts to catch up with her words. "Oh, yes, let me pilot the ship." The two of them switched places in a matter of seconds. "Xellien installed a lot of extra add-ons to this shuttle. One feature which allowed for a quick escape." The shuttle tilted back slightly.

Eureka watched with muted curiosity. The stars hanging over head swooped into view as they climbed towards the sky. Shara punched one of the buttons, and with a loud crack, the entire ship burst forward. The stars shook violently as they climbed for space.

Eureka knew what was happening.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Shara said as the ship began to steady out and gravity lost its grip on them.

Eureka didn't reply. After a moment, Shara turned to see her staring off into the stars, tears glinting off her cheek in the moonlight. She could have said something, but she didn't think it would matter. From what she had seen earlier, she knew Renton and this girl were close, but to what extent, she wasn't all that sure.

She turned back to the canopy to see the curve of the world horizon as they slowly dipped back down towards Earth. The site was beautiful, even mesmerizing. But as she tried to take it in like she had so many times before, the soft whimpers from Eureka echoed into her ears, and she felt nothing.

Renton heaved a tight breath as consciousness poured into his mind. His eyes desperately searched the room, but all he could see was darkness and a single light hanging over him. His breath quickly became erratic as he tried to realize what was going on. When he tried to stand up, binds around his arms and feet made him realize he was tied to a metal chair.

He coughed as he felt something going up his nose and back down his throat, like a long plastic tube. Fear crawled into his chest, he wanted to know what was going on, he wanted Eureka to be at his side. As long as they were together, nothing could go wrong.

He looked through the room and thought he was alone, until he noticed a figure standing in the darkness.

Very suddenly, he wished he had been right about being alone.

"You should feel very afraid, Renton." Admiral Colin's voice moved like an essence in the air.

Renton swallowed a try lump in his throat. "How do you know my name?"

"Your name came to me by certain resources, none of which will matter to you in the next few hours." His hollow stare burrowed into Renton. "That much I can promise you."

The fear began to claw at him. He'd seen these kinds of things in movies before. The room, the smell, and the light hanging overhead all matched that kind of feeling. His breathing became faster. "Where is Eureka?" His voice cracked.

"That girl that was with you before? She's already received her treatment, I'm afraid. A strong girl, we couldn't get anything out of her before she went out cold."

At those words, the fear turned into burning rage. He tried to leap out of his feet, ripping and pulling at the bindings holding him to the chair. He writhed and struggled like a wild beast. The Admiral watched passively and uninterested.

Only a minute had passed until Renton had lost energy and became lifeless in his chair.

"It appears you're ready. Alison, come forward." A woman emerged from the darkness. She wore a white lab coat and strutted with perfect form. Her hair fell down past her back like a river of black liquid. Her eyes, he noticed, glinted in the light overhead, revealing a fierce blue color.

"Hello, Mr. Renton." She said as she pulled a large metal box up behind her. She pulled the box to her side, reached down, and opened it. Inside the box was filled with rows of knives, syringes, vials filled with variously colored liquids, and other things that Renton wouldn't want anywhere within a ten food radius of him.

"Begin, Alison. We cannot be frugal with our time." The admiral said as a world of pain was opened before Renton.


End file.
